Best Friends For Never
by New-Perspective22
Summary: My stomach flipped. Why now? I looked up and met the eyes of my best friend. The one I've known since we were born. The one I can count on through anything. And apparently, he's also the one who's made for me. My soul mate. I think I'm going to puke.
1. Chapter 1

So....it's been a while. Sorry about that. But I'm back, and it's a whole new story! I really worked hard on this, so tell me what you think about it.

P.S.- Anyone else ECSTATIC about new moon ? Cause I am.

P.P.S.- I went to the Taylor Swift concert in September and Taylor Lautner was there. He is SO hot.

P.P.P.S- I love everyone who reads and reviews. :)

* * *

"Tala! Wake up! They'll leave without you again!" All of a sudden there was a bright light in my face, and before I could even open my eyes, the blankets were ripped right off of my body. I instantly froze. I don't know why, but I'm always cold.

"When I said to wake up, I meant now!" That would be the evil step-mother talking, otherwise known as Carol. My dad sees a perfect little angel in her, but I know the truth. She's a bitch.

I sat up in my bed very slowly. My head was spinning, and I couldn't see straight. Finally, the room stood still and I smiled contently.

"Do you even know what time it is?" I growled and opened my eyes to see Carol leaning up against my dresser with one hand on her hip. I rolled my eyes and looked at my alarm clock.

"7:12. 7:12? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?! _Shit._" I mumbled under my breath and sprinted out of my room. I could hear Carol yelling at me about my language, but I didn't acknowledge her. I usually don't.

As soon as I brushed my teeth, I threw my hair up into a ponytail and quickly smelled my armpits. Gross. Is it even legal for me to smell like this? Who cares. I ran quickly back to my room and whipped open the bottom drawer to grab a pair of sweats. I quickly took off my shorts and put the sweats on. I shut the drawer with my leg while I opened the second one and grabbed the first t-shirt I saw. I threw it on after taking my tank off and stopped as I ran out the door to look at myself. Pathetic.

"Tala! They're here!" Carol screamed from downstairs. I turned the lights off and ran of my room. I took the stairs three at a time, picked my books up from the table in the living room, and swung open the door.

"Tala! Wait," I turned around, and saw Carol holding a plate with pancakes on it.

"I'm not taking that in the car," I rolled my eyes again, and before I could turn around, she shoved the plate at me.

"You need a healthy breakfast. Have a good day at school!" She shut the door. Ugh. I ran over to the car, opened the door, and sat down. I felt three pairs of eyes on me.

"What?" I snapped. I picked up a pancake, looked at it, and dropped it back on the plate.

"Are you going to eat those?" I laughed, and handed the plate to Quil.

Quil, Jake, and Embry were the three pairs of eyes that had just been staring at me. If you're wondering who they are, well...we've been best friends since we came out of our mother's wombs. We used to get along with other people, but they don't really like us anymore. Well, that's a lie. They don't really like _me_ anymore. I don't know why. I guess it's cause I'm a little bit of a tomboy. That's another lie. I'm a big one. What am I supposed to do about it? My dad just kind of let me hang out with the boys cause it was easier for him.

"Hello? Are you even listening to me?" Jake waved a hand in front of my face.

"No. I was spacing out, sorry. It's just that Carol didn't wake me up until about two minutes ago. I think she likes to see me suffer." Quil said something, but I looked at Embry because he scoffed. He took one hand off of the steering wheel to run it through his hair. I blinked and flashed back into reality.

"She is the definition of bitch." Jake said, and Quil nodded as he ate the last pancake.

"OK, enough of my problems. What's wrong with you Embry?" He looked over his shoulder back to me. I raised my right eyebrow, and squinted my eyes. It made him laugh.

"Nothing, I just don't feel like myself today." He looked back to the road. I nodded. Well that conversation is done. I didn't say anything else the whole ride. I was too preoccupied thinking about Embry. He's never been this quiet in our entire lives.

Embry pulled into our usual parking spot all the way in the back of the lot. I opened the door and slid out, not paying attention to what was going on, and my books fell out of my lap.

"Oh! What a loser!" Quil pointed and laughed at me, and I could hear Jake chuckling too. I glared up at them, and they stopped. I reached down to pick them up, but Embry had them in his hands already. I took grabbed them from his hands, and pulled back right away.

"Jeez Embry! You're burning hot!" I reached a hand up to his face, and I swear to God I heard it sizzling.

"Ow!" I pulled it back. "You should go home man." I looked up at him with worried eyes. He's like a brother to me, and I don't like seeing him sick.

"No, I'm fine. I wanna stay at school." I nodded. "Oh, and you're welcome for picking up your books." I laughed and started walking to the school. Quil and Jake were already ahead of us. Quil had Jake in a headlock, and Jake was trying to push him off. I looked above them and saw the 'Welcome to La Push High School' sign.

"That sign is so misleading. It makes us look like a decent school." I laughed, and expected Embry to laugh too, but he didn't. "OK, really? Either you lighten up, or go home." His eyes flashed to mine. For a second I saw an expression I've never seen from any of the guys before. Fear.

"I'm fine, Tal." I smiled

"Do you remember when John tried to call me that in third grade and I punched him?" That finally got him to laugh.

"Yeah. I've never seen a boy cry so much before." I laughed. I stopped walking, and as he saw me stop, he did too. "Tal, what's wro-" I stuck my arm out and hit his stomach.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." I whispered. Right in front of me, was the one, the only, Mike Kraw. He walked forward in his penguin like manner, with his books in one hand and a calculator in the other. Embry finally saw him, and instead of listening to me, he did the opposite.

"Hey Mike! Wait up!" I looked up to him with horror written on my face.

"Why? What did I ever do to you?" He laughed, but pushed my forward.

"C'mon, he's waiting. You can't be mean to Mike Kraw. It's just not possible."

"Oh, it is for me." I mumbled to myself. Mike was waiting for us in the exact spot that he stopped in. He was rocking back and forth on his heels. Even he, being 5'7", was taller than me. Yupp, I'm a short one. 5'1" to be exact.

"Good morning Tala!" I cringed. I heard Embry chuckle.

"Good morning Mike." He smiled when I said his name. Why do I attract the creepy guys and not the ones I actually want.

"Did you finish the English paper?" I nodded, and looked up to see Embry holding his mouth and trying not to laugh. I think Mike saw it too because when I looked back, he wasn't there anymore.

"Look what you did! He left!" Embry let out his laugh. It sounded more like a boom of ignorance to me. He pretended to wipe away tears, and I hit him as I started to laugh too.

"Hey, you should see that as a favor. You hate him, don't you? What happened to being mean to him?"

"OK, it's not that easy to be mean to him. I just feel so bad for him." Embry laughed even harder. "Stop, seriously." He kept laughing. "Are you in on something with Carol? Do you secretly hate me or something?" He looked at me, still laughing, I just rolled my eyes and walked into my personal hell.

* * *

I walked into the empty cafeteria. I'm usually a little early for lunch. I sat down at our table in the right corner of the small room. I told you we were the loners. I reached down to grab my lunch. I was starving. I put my sandwich on the table and tapped my fingers impatiently. I don't want to be that loser who looks like she sits and eats by herself. Suddenly, Jake and Quil were sitting across from me, so I stuffed my face with food.

"Hey, where's Embry?"

"Oh, I forgot! You didn't hear about it yet?" Quil almost jumped out of his seat.

"Calm down. No, it is only fourth period. What happened?" I didn't show it to them, but on the inside I was flipping out.

"So, he was in Math and-" Jake cut him off.

"Let me tell it, I was there." Quil rolled his eyes, but nodded. "So, we're sitting in math class taking a quiz. And all of a sudden, he turns to me and asks 'Do you have any Advil?' I told him no, and asked him why. He said he felt sick, so I told him to go to the nurse. Just as I told him this, Mr. Jones told us to stop talking, and he blew up. I mean, he got up and started screaming. He kept saying he didn't want to stop talking and all of this stuff that came out of no where." I gasped.

"That's not all. Keep going." Jake glared at Quil, and he sank into his seat.

"Anyway, while he was screaming, he was shaking. And not just your everyday little twitch, it was a violent shake, like he was having a seizure. Then he ran out of the classroom before anyone could react. I haven't seen him since."

"Oh my god. Do you think he's OK?" I asked. So much for not showing any worry to them. Quil stood up from the table.

"I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry about him, Tala. He's always better off by himself. Anyone wanna come and get food?" No one answered. He shrugged and walked into the line. I looked to Jake.

"I'm worried about him. He's never been like that before. So...temperamental. And I'm not going to lie, I was scared that he was going to grab me and snap me in half." He let out a little laugh, but I knew he was actually worried about him.

"I'm worried too. But...we should just take it like Quil. Maybe something happened with his mom. Or maybe he's just having a bad day. He seemed normal this morning, but I don't know." I rubbed my forehead and let out a loud sigh.

"You're right, he'll be fine. We shouldn't worry about him." He instantly lightened up, but I couldn't be the same. I got this feeling that this wasn't going to be good at all. I was still worrying about him even though Jake said not to. I sat at the lunch table not saying anything the rest of the period biting my nails. I haven't bitten my nails since seventh grade. _Fuck_. I'm screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

So, these first couple chapters aren't as long as i would like them to be, but they need to be short cause it's not really into the story yet.

Enjoy! And as always, read and review! [I was disappointed by last chapters reviews. :(]

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"It's been a week almost. You're not worried at all?" I looked over my shoulder I spoke. Jake was shaking his head, but Quil wasn't even paying attention to me. He was too busy changing the radio.

"Nah, I think he's fine. Something probably just happened in his family and he's been too busy to tell us." Jake stopped talking about Embry after that comment. Him and Quil spent the ride just talking about some stupid football game. They didn't even care at all about Embry.

I'm dying. I feel like part of me has been off this week without him near. He's always been the closest one to me, after all he does live right down my block. But there's just something about him that just clicks with me. We're perfect together. OK, not like that. It's more like...whenever we're together, everything is normal for once.

"Tala, you just passed my house." I felt a shove on my shoulder, and I slowly looked up at Quil. He was looking at me with raised eyebrows. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking. Hey, do you guys just wanna come over? I wanna do something." He looked back at Jake, who nodded, and then they went back to talking about football. Five minutes later, when we almost at my house, they finally stopped their conversation.

"So, why exactly are we coming over?" Jake asked from the back seat.

"Well, I was thinking and..." Quil cut me off.

"Is this what you were thinking about earlier?"

"Kind of. It has to deal with it." He nodded, and looked away from me.

"So, what is it?" Jake asked impatiently.

"We're going on a stake-out at Embry's house!" Quil screamed a 'Heck yes!', which made me laugh, but I looked in the rear view mirror to see Jake shaking his head. I pulled into my driveway and shut the car off.

"OK, shoot it at me. What do you have to say about it?" I turned around and asked Jake.

"I just don't think it's a good idea, that's all. What if we get caught?" Quil laughed.

"Sissy." I reached over and slapped his chest, making him fake a cry.

"Get caught? It's Embry, what's the worst he could do, not talk to us? Cause I'm pretty sure that's already happening." I opened my door, and marched up the steps. I turned on my heel to look back at my car. Neither Jake or Quil was out yet. I pointed my finger at them, and then motioned them to follow me. I turned around again, leaving the front door open. I walked through the doorway and into the kitchen. I placed my books on the table, and sat down. I rubbed my forehead as I heard whispers coming from the door.

"No, you go first. I'm scared, she seems pissed." Quil said.

"No way! She's mad at me, why would I go first?!" Jake shouted.

I got up from the chair and walked back to the front door. They both dropped their hands by their sides, and stared at me with wide eyes. I laughed.

"Am I honestly that scary? I'm not mad, just frustrated by this whole situation. Now, if you both participate then this will go smoothly. I already planned it all out. Just come inside, and I'll tell you about it while we wait for a pizza." They looked at each other with hungry eyes, and relaxed as the walked past me and into the kitchen.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. I have to go behind the bush?" Jake asked. I nodded, and he groaned.

"It's fine. It won't take longer than five minutes."

"That's not it. That bush is about half of my size. You could see me easily from inside his house."

"He's right. You're the smallest one and since this was your idea..." Quil added.

"Ugh, do I have to do everything!?" I looked at Quil and Jake. They looked scared again. "Whatever. It's getting late so I'm going to go change and grab the walkie talkies." They nodded and ran out of the room and up the stairs. I closed my door behind me and walked over to my dresser. I grabber a pair of black pants, and a black shirt. I changed quickly, and ran out of the room. I opened the door to George's room. George is what the evil step-mother dragged along with her when she moved in. He's only twelve, and he's into technology and all of that crap. I don't think he'll mind if I borrow some of his toys for a while. Hopefully.

I opened his drawer and grabbed two walkie talkies. I read the directions on the back of them as I took each stair downstairs slowly.

"Hey guys, it says these things work for at least two miles, so I think we'll be fine if you just stay here." I walked into the kitchen, but Jake and Quil weren't there. I walked around the corner, and saw them both sitting on the couch watching T.V. I walked in front of it, and turned it off.

"Why did you do that?!" Jake looked up while yelling at me.

"Yeah, that was a good episode of Cake Boss!" Quil added.

"OK, number one. The fact that you guys were watching Cake Boss is really disturbing. And number two, I'm all set to go and you can't watch T.V. while I'm gone. You have to hold this walkie talkie," I handed Jake the small black device, "and listen to what I'm saying so that you know what's going on."

"Cool. Can you just go so we can get this over with? I wanna go home." Quil said.

"What happened to you? You were so enthusiastic about this before."

"Yeah but it's just not fun when you have to sit at home while someone else gets to have the fun. And it'll probably just prove you wrong." I looked at Jake, who was smiling.

"He's been with you for too long. Stay on channel 2, I'll see you in a little bit." I saluted them, making them laugh. With that, I walked out of the front door and into the cold wind. I started walking east while trying to turn on the walkie talkie. I finally found the button, and switched it to channel 2.

"Hello? Tala!" My ears felt like they were bleeding. It was so loud. I stopped walking and searched for the volume. It was around eight o' clock, so it was super dark. I finally found it, and turned it almost all the way down.

"Yeah, I'm here. Don't be so loud, someone might hear you." I heard something mumble, but I couldn't make it out.

"OK. Quil said we need code names. We came up with Little Red Riding Hood for you." There was a laugh in the back, and then it went dead,

"So funny guys. What's Embry then? You know, in case he finds me." I released the talk button and waited for a response.

"He's 'The Ditcher'." I laughed.

"Oh, that's so clever. OK, I'm close now." I walked past the Larson's house, Embry's neighbors. I tip-toed across their lawn and past the driveway. There in front of me was the infamous bush. I never realized how small it was.

"You there yet?" Jake whispered from the other line.

"Yeah, I am. Hold on." I put the walkie talkie in my pocket. I reached my hand slowly to grab the branch. I saw Embry's car, his mom's, and an unfamiliar big black truck. I let the branch go, and grabbed my walkie talkie.

"Guys, do you know anyone with a big black truck?" I let go of the button, and tapped my foot as I waited for an answer.

"The only person in La Push with a big black truck is Paul."

"Paul? There has to be someone else. There's no way Paul's at Embry's. He hates him."

"Quil says he's the only one. And that his codename is Scary Monster."

"Now is not the time for code names. Hold on, I'm going to see if I can see anything."

"Hurry up Little Red." I rolled my eyes as I put the walkie talkie back in my pocket. I pushed the tree branch back, and I instantly fell over. I scrambled to my feet, and ran around the corner. I grabbed my walkie talkie, and put it close to my mouth.

"I've been spotted. I repeat, Scary Monster has spotted Little Red Ridding Hood." I panted as I looked back over my shoulder. I jumped. Right there in front of me was Paul.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was so deep. It scared me. Quil picked a good name for him after all.

"I was just...I..uh...I wanted to check on Embry." I looked down at my feet. Never before has anyone made me so nervous and scared in my life. He had to be at least three feet taller than me, with his big muscles and broad shoulders.

"Embry's fine. Now leave." He looked down at me for a while, and then turned around and walked quickly back toward the house. This made me mad. I'm not one with patience and a kind heart. When someone makes me mad, there's no stopping me.

"Excuse me? He's fine? It sure doesn't seem like it, especially since you're here." He stopped dead in his tracks, and turned around on his heels. I swallowed deeply. Uh-oh.

"What did you just say?" He was shaking. What the hell is wrong with this dude?

"Last time I checked, Embry hated you." He scoffed.

"Last time I checked, he still did." His cocky smile made me want to barf.

"What makes you think you can decide what's right for him? How long have you known him, three, four days? I've known him since we were born, so I think I should go see him." I walked forward, and tried to make my way past him, but he stuck out his arm to hold me back. I tried to claw my way out of his grasp, but he was too strong.

"Let me go! You're hurting me!" My ribs started to feel like they were crushing underneath his hand. I was about to scream rape, but someone else stopped him.

"Paul. Let her go, _now_." We both looked up as he dropped me to the ground. There stood a tall, muscular man. He looked exactly like Paul. "Go inside and see if he's OK." Paul growled and obeyed like a dog, walking with his head hung into the house.

"I'm sorry about him, he has some issues controlling his anger." The man who stopped Paul spoke.

"I'd say." I said under my breath to myself, but somehow he heard and let out a nervous laugh.

"I'm Sam Uley." He held out him hand for me took shake, but I was too shocked. My mouth dropped open.

"_The_ Sam Uley?" He laughed again, dropping his hand by his side.

"Probably." Stupid. Why did I just say that?

"Can I see Embry?" Way to jump right into that one, Tala.

"No, I'm afraid not. Again, I apologize, but he's too sick."

"Oh, so he's sick? We thought...you know what? Nevermind, I'll just leave." He smiled and nodded at me, as I walked away.

"It was nice meeting you, Tala." I turned around. He still stood there with a dumb smile on his face. I didn't tell him my name, so how did he know it? I smiled back to him, and ran quickly back to my house. I swung open the door, and ran into the living room. Quil and Jake were sitting next to each other on the couch, both having one hand on the walkie talkie.

"There you are! We've been calling you, but when you didn't answer we got worried."

"Yeah, we were about to come look for you." Quil said. They looked at me with impatient eyes and raised eyebrows.

"What?" I asked. I sat down next to them.

"What the hell happened back there?" Jake asked. I looked at my hands folded in my lap. Then I realized the pain in the rib cage. I stood up and walked into the kitchen, knowing that they both were following me.

"So, Paul was there. And he saw me standing outside the house. He came out, I yelled at him, he crushed my side. Nothing unusual." I said sarcastically.

"He did what to you?"

"Well, I said I was going inside to see Embry, but he stopped me with his arm, and crushed me trying to hold me back." I opened the medicine cabinet, and reached for the bottle of Advil. I opened it and swallowed two pills.

"Are you OK?" Jake asked, getting up from the chair and coming to look at me, putting his arms around my shoulders.

"I'm fine, but I'm not done telling the story." I pushed his arm off of my shoulder, and walked to sit next to Quil.

"Keep going then!" He almost jumped out of his seat, making me laugh. It hurt when I laughed. Mental Note- Don't laugh for the next week while my ribs slowly heal.

"OK, so Paul's about to completely kill me, but then Sam Uley walks out and tells him to stop, and he just does. He looked like he would do anything for him."

"_The_ Sam Uley?" Jake asked.

"That's exactly what I said! Anyway, I asked if I could go see Embry, and he said he was sick. So I just started to walk away, and he says 'It was nice meeting you, Tala.'" I threw my hands up in the air.

"I don't get it. What's so weird about that?" Quil scratched his head.

"I didn't tell him my name, he just knew it! That's beyond creepy. It was just weird." I sank back into my chair, and heard and car horn outside.

"That's my mom. You want a ride Jake?"

"Yeah, if that's OK." They both got up from the table.

"That's it, you're just going to leave without saying anything?"

"I don't have anything to say, Tala. It's just weird. We all used to hate Sam and his gang. But now I guess they're more important to Embry than us." Jake looked down at his feet as he spoke. The car honked again, and Quil looked anxious to leave.

"Well, you better go before your mom has a heart attack waiting for you." I faked a laugh, and looked down at my hands.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Quil said as he nodded and walked out of my house, followed closely by Jake.

Why would Paul and Sam be over at Embry's? It just doesn't make any sense. He despised them up until a week ago, when all of this happened. It makes me mad to see that he chooses them over his best friends. I know he loves us, and we love him. So why ditch us and go with Sam Uley.

I didn't even realize it, but I was bleeding. My fingernail was completely off of my finger. Lovely, it's not like I need that at all.


	3. Chapter 3

So...reviews are just failing lately, and I don't know why. I was going to go on hiatus, but decided against it 'cause I love you guys that much! So show me the love back and pleaseeeee review!

Oh, and I haven't been saying this 'cause I don't think I need to, but I am not Stephanie Meyer, obviously. (REVIEW!)

* * *

I was staring blankly out the window as I watched the rain pour down outside. Jake hadn't been in school since last week, and Embry still didn't come back. The only one left was Quil, and he's even been acting weird lately. Somehow I get the feeling that this is all my fault. Obviously it has something to do with me, but I just don't know what. Most of my fingernails are gone, so I'm starting to chew at my skin now. It's a force of habit I guess.

"Tala? Are you in your room?" I heard my dad call from down the hallway, but I didn't move. I heard the door creak open, and footsteps until they were close enough to where I was sitting. I felt a hand on my shoulder, so I let out a loud sigh. I looked up to see my dad looking at me with worried eyes.

"Hey." I said as I looked back out to the rain.

"Quil's mom just called, he's staying home today so you won't need to pick him up." I let out a little chuckle.

"Great." I rolled my eyes just thinking about it. They're probably all staying home today, hanging out, and planning something evil against me.

"I can't help but sense a hint of sarcasm. What's wrong?" I stood up. I'm not one for big, sentimental talks with parents. I reached out for my book bag, and threw it over my shoulder. I started toward the door, but my dad stepped in front of me.

"Hey, I asked you a question Tal." Ha, Tal. I remember when someone else used to call me that.

"Nothing, dad. I'm fine." I let my head drop, making sure he would feel my embarrassment from his question. This time he was the one to let out a sigh as he stepped out of my way.

"OK, if you say so. Have a good day at school." Ha, I doubt that. I ran past him and down the stairs, making me fly at the door. I swung it open, and slammed it shut behind me. I leaned up against it, and closed my eyes as I deeply inhaled the scent of the rain. I instantly calmed down and opened my eyes. But of course the minute I do, I see that stupid big, black truck drive by my house. And of course I see Paul driving it, giving me a dirty look as he sped past me. I took another deep breath as I walked over to my car. Maybe this means Embry will actually be in school today.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I parked in our usual spot in the back, but I couldn't help but see the big truck just in front of the school. I pulled the key out of the ignition, and placed my hands in my lap. _You can do this. Just go up and talk to him. _You're right, he's been my friend for years, there's nothing to be nervous about. I reached next to me for my bag, only then noticing my sweaty palms. I opened my car door and stepped out only to be splashed with water by a passing car. _Great_. I looked down at my damp clothes. It's manageable. I threw my hood up, and started walking towards the school.

The minute I got in his vision, Paul was laughing at me. I wanted to say something so badly, but something in the back of my mind told me to stop. So I just dropped my head in shame as I quickly walked towards the school. I heard him mumble something the minutes I walked past him, and then a very familiar voice told him to stop.

"Paul, shut up. It's not funny." I picked my head up to see a bigger version of Jake. Part of me wanted to run and hug him, but a bigger part of me was still mad at him. Billy telling me he had polio was B.S. I just smiled weakly at him and started walking again. As I walked inside the school, I felt something that I couldn't explain. And then I finally realized that Embry wasn't there, and I grew disappointed. Why? I tried to explain to myself why I was disappointed my whole first four periods, but I just couldn't find a reason.

I walked into the lunchroom, which was actually already pretty crowded because I was walking really slow in the hallways, and sat down at my table. Yeah, it's just me now. I hadn't really thought about sitting alone the whole day because my mind was so wrapped around Embry. UGH. I seriously have a problem. I got up and threw my lunch out. There will be no eating for me today. Like I said before, I'd rather not eat than look like the loser who eats by herself. I sat back down and just looked around the small cafeteria. You had your jocks/cheerleaders sitting together. And you had the nerdy bookworms who do homework the whole period. And then my eyes met the one table I was longing to be at. They looked so happy. They were all laughing. I couldn't help but feel jealous. Paul looked the happiest of them all, and I know that he doesn't deserve it. I am the one who deserves to be sitting with Jake and Embry and having a good time, not Paul. I think Jake felt my bad vibes because his smile wiped off of his face, and his eyes met mine.

He looked hurt, but I'm glad I did it. I was glaring at them. Well not them, mostly Paul. Jake nudged Embry, who instantly stopped laughing as Jake whispered something his way. Embry processed whatever Jake told him, and our eyes were about to meet, but then something got in the way. It was an ugly plaid fabric. Oh good God.

"Good afternoon, Tala." Mike's annoying voice rang in my head.

"Good afternoon to you too, Mike." I faked a smile just for his safety. He beamed back at me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's new with you?" Underneath all the pimples and the glasses, he was a genuine, nice person. I just couldn't get past his face. And I know that's mean to say, but everyone does it.

"Oh, nothing really." He raised one eyebrow.

"I could be wrong, but I do believe that something has changed with you. You seem less...excited." Excited? When was I ever excited?

"Well you know...being ditched by your best friends isn't something that you want to go through everyday."

"Ditched?"

"Oops. Did I just say that out loud?" I laughed nervously and shrugged my shoulders, but I knew he wouldn't let it go that easily. He reached a hand across the table, and placed it on top of mine. I didn't know if I should take it away or throw up.

"I've always been here for you, you just haven't seen that yet." I could barely hear his words. He said this in a very low voice, as if he was embarrassed to say it.

"Oh, Mike. I don't..." I couldn't finish my sentence. One reason was that I honestly didn't have anything to say. I was disgusted, but I felt bad for him at the same time. And another reason was because I was cut off by someone from the distance.

"Oh, look at that! The nerds finally reunite!" I flashed my angry eyes to see Paul walking towards Mike and I, followed by Jake and Embry, who was looking down at the ground.

"What do you want now Paul?" I stood up from the table, not really growing any height.

"Oh, just stopping by to see the love birds. You guys make the perfect couple."

"Paul, just stop." I was growing really angry now.

"Mike, tell me something." He waited for a response, but the only thing he got was a loud gulp from his throat. "How is she? You know...?" He wiggled his eyebrows, making Mike turn the brightest red. He looked awkwardly at me, then back at Paul, and turned around and ran.

"That was very uncalled for." I said under my breath.

"I was just having some fun. Come on, don't be a party pooper." He stepped closer, and instantly I felt small and weak.

"Paul. Stop." Instead of listening to me, he stepped even closer, making me step back. I tripped over my own foot, and landed on my ass. When trying to catch myself, I landed on my arm and let out a loud scream. If everyone was looking before, that definitely got their attention. Now Paul was laughing, but stuck out a hand to help me up. I glared at him, and got myself up using my other arm.

"That was golden. Does it hurt?" He laughed as he looked back at Embry, who was staring at me. It wasn't like he was worried or anything, it was weird. It was like...I was the sun and he was blinded by me. I felt awkward from the intensity of it. I've seen this in movies before. It looks like love. But that doesn't make sense because we've been friends forever. It can't be it. Maybe he is just worried about me?

"Hello? I asked you a question?" I blinked and looked back at Paul. I looked at Jake, who looked like he was about to cry. And then I looked back at Embry, who hadn't moved a muscle since I looked at him five seconds ago.

"I've had worse." I made sure it sounded as mean as it could before I glared at Embry again, and then turned on my heel. I reached down for my bag with my good arm, and marched out of the cafeteria. I looked over my shoulder as I pushed the door open, and saw Embry. He still hadn't moved, but his face had changed. It was filled with worry and regret.

Turns out, I broke my arm when I tried to catch myself. I went to the nurse after leaving the cafeteria because it hurt so bad. She told me I probably broke it, called Carol, who said just to send me to get a cast and then to come back to school. Bitch. So here I am now, with a black cast on my left arm, in Chemistry class last period. There's only five minutes left. My teacher's been talking the whole period, but I haven't heard a word she was saying. The only thing on my mind was Embry.

Why was he looking at me like that? There has to be something else besides...love behind the expression. Every time I close my eyes I see him face, just staring at me. It's kind of creepy. But I've grown to like it. It makes me calm and I don't know why. And then I get to thinking and I don't know why I like it because I should hate him right now. I _do_ hate him right now. He left school for two weeks, and he hasn't talked to me even for a minute. And now he's dragged Jake with him into whatever he's doing with Sam and Paul. And then when Paul's making fun of me, neither of them stand up for me! That was really the tip of the iceberg for me. I just really need time to think about this all, preferably not in school. And just like that, everyone was filing out of class. Saved by the bell.

As I walked to my car in the rain, I looked through my bag for my keys. I didn't even care to put my hood up, I was too numb to feel it anyway. I finally found my keys, and I pulled them out. For the first time, I looked up for my car. I found it, but then I also found something else I didn't want to. I was approaching my car, but instead of going into it, I walked right past it and the person standing next to it.

"Oh, come on Tala! You can't walk home in the rain, and you can't just leave your car at the school!" I heard him call from behind me. But I continued walking. I was almost around the corner when he jumped in front of me.

"Move." I said through my teeth.

"Not until you get into your car." I placed my hand on my hip, which made him smile for whatever reason.

"If that makes you leave, fine." I turned on my heel again and stormed off towards my car.

"Wait!" I spun around, and hit a wall. I rubbed my head as I looked up to see that it wasn't a wall, it was Embry.

"Jeez, Em. Watch where your going."

"Sorry. Here, let me see." He gently moved my hand away from my forehead, and placed his extremely warm one on it. He traced around the sore spot for a little bit with his thumb, then leaned down and kissed it. Normally, I would find this really really weird, but for some reason I liked it. I looked up to see him standing less than a foot away from me.

"What do you want?" I stepped back, still looking at his face, which changed from happy to the same regretful one from earlier.

"Can I maybe catch a ride?" I let out a sarcastic laugh, and shook my head.

"He's always looking for _something._" I rolled my eyes and turned around to walk to my car. I didn't know why I decided to be nice to him just then, I guess something just came over me. I heard him following behind me. It started to rain harder, but I didn't change my pace.

"You're getting soaked, Tal!" I looked behind me and laughed.

"So are you." Ah, and she's back. The mean, bitchy Tala we all know and love.

"Yeah, but I'll dry sooner than you will. And you're more likely to get sick than I am." He laughed as he spoke.

"Why am I the fragile one? I'm not a kid and you're definitely not my father, so stop telling me what to do." My mood changed instantly, and I almost ran to my car now. I sat down in my car, and turned it on while I waited for him to enter. Once he did, I pulled away and drove away from the school.

That was the longest car ride of my life. Well, not literally because the school's only about seven minutes from my house. But no one spoke. I didn't because I was still fuming anger. And Embry didn't because he was probably scared of me now. Good, he should be. I smiled to myself at that note.

"What are you smiling at?" I jumped when he spoke. It was so silent that any noise would have made me jump. He laughed, but I just looked over and glared.

"Nothing that would interest you."

"That's a lie. Anything that has to deal with you would interest me." I think that part was supposed to be to himself, but I heard it. I was going to say something, but I noticed that we were just outside his house, so I pulled into his driveway and put the car in park. I tapped my right hand impatiently on the steering wheel waiting for him to leave.

"Well...goodbye." I said, trying to break the silence.

"Tala, will you look at me." I regretfully listened and turned my head. He looked like a little boy, so vulnerable and cute. What am I saying?

"Yes?" I raised my eyebrows while speaking. Just leave already!

"I'm sorry." His voice was low, like he was ashamed. It made me want to reach over and hug him, but I held my arms by my side.

"For what? Smacking me in the face with your beastly pecs?" This made him laugh. When he laughed, he beamed, and I couldn't help but smile along with him.

"Well, I guess you could say that, but I'm sorry for everything I've done to you these past two weeks. I-" He stopped when a howl from outside came through the window and filled his ears.

"You...?" I egged him on so that he would finish his sentence so that we could be friends again. But he didn't catch my drift, no one ever does. I'm just not good at sending signs. But what kind of sign was I sending?

"I...have to go. I'm sorry, again. I'll explain everything later, I promise." I was pissed. I can't believe he wanted to leave, especially after not finishing the sentence.

"No. If you leave now, this is over. I can't handle you leaving me like this all the time. I'm sick of the lies and secrets. I just want to know the truth. Now." Another howl rang through our ears, and he looked at me with desperate eyes.

"I'm sorry. I want to stay, believe me. But I can't, I have to go." He opened the door and stepped out. Before he shut it, he looked back at me. I couldn't breath. It was more intense than the stare in the cafeteria. I was the one to look away, I just couldn't watch him walk away from me. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I let out a sob. Then the car door slammed shut, and I looked out the window to see no one there. He was gone, just like that. I rubbed my eyes, and put the car in reverse. It took two seconds to get to my house. I ran up the pathway to the door, and quickly swung it open. There was noise in the kitchen. They were probably having dinner without me, they always do. I ran into the kitchen, not caring about Carol's rule of no shoes in the house. My dad was standing by the fridge talking to Carol. He heard me walking in, and looked at me.

"Sweety, what's wrong?" I let out another sob, and just ran into his arms. He stroked my hair as I cried into his shoulder. At some point, I stopped crying and he led me upstairs into my room. I fell asleep crying that night, which is weird seeing that I haven't cried since my mom died when I was twelve.


	4. Chapter 4

Here it issss ! Sorry for the delay, I've been busy on my winter break. But review and I promise te next one will be up soon !

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_Meet me at the park in 10? _The fact that I actually had to stop and think about that was disturbing. I rolled my eyes as I threw my phone over my shoulder and onto my bed. I stood up from the floor and let out a sigh as I walked over to the mirror.

I'm so weird looking. My proportions are off. My torso is so long, making my legs super short, which makes me look like a freak. My black hair curls oddly down my back and barely reaches my nonexistent butt. I have huge boobs, but that makes me lack in the behind. I leaned in closer to examine my face. It's clear of any pimples, which makes me happy, but then I have these dark circles under my eyes that never go away. It makes me look like a cocaine addict or like I'm hooked on some other kind of drug. My nose is super small compared to my eyes, which are large, round, and brown. I always hated that, my brown eyes I mean. I wish I had blue eyes so that I would have at least one quality that made me stand out from the rest of the people at school.

"Don't stop, make it pop. DJ blow my speakers up tonight…" I turned around and ran over to my bed to look for my phone. Somehow, it got all the way under my covers so I looked like a fool throwing them across the room until I finally found my phone. When I did, I looked at the screen and instantly hit ignore. I turned it off and threw it back down on my bed. Even reading his name made me want to cry, or punch something in the face.

"Tala! Come down here for a second!" I heard my dad scream from downstairs. I flicked the lights off as I walked past and quickly jumped down each step. I saw my dad bending over on his knees in front of the TV. I don't think he knew I was there, so I coughed, making him jump up and hit his head on the table.

"Sorry. Are you OK?" I rushed over to see the damage I caused him. He was wincing and rubbing his head.

"Yeah, fine. I just wanted to let you know that Carol and I are going out for a little and she would like to know if you wanted to come with." Gag me with a spoon.

"Um, no, I'll pass. You two have some alone time. I have homework to catch up on anyway." That was a lie 'cause I didn't have any homework. I honestly had nothing to do, but I'd rather sit at home alone all day than go out with Carol and my dad.

"You sure?" I sensed a little bit of tension in his voice. He was probably nervous leaving me home alone after that little break down last night.

"I'm a grown woman, dad. I'll live." He looked up at me, and I threw him a fake smile to seal the deal. He flashed a smile back at me. Dads are so easy to convince.

"If you say so. Have fun then." I winked at him and he stood up from the floor. He walked over to the front closet and grabbed his coat.

"Dad?" He turned around right before he could reach for the door. He raised his eyebrows as he grew impatient with me. I threw away the question I was going to ask him.

"Why were you on the floor?" He laughed and held out his hand. In it was a tiny diamond earring. I laughed and nodded as he reached for the door and walked out. Stupid Carol. I went over and locked the door. I always get creeped out when I'm home alone. I walked into the kitchen as I hummed Tik Tok, which was now stuck in my head. I opened the fridge, and say nothing there. Again, stupid Carol. The only thing was bread and jelly. Looks like I'm having toast for breakfast. I popped two pieces into the toaster, and tapped my finger to a beat as I waited for them. The phone rang, and I reached across the counter to get it. I answered it not thinking about looking at the caller id.

"Hello?" I heard someone laugh in the distance, then a loud slap, and then it went quiet. I laughed.

"Tala? You actually answered?" Oh my god. This boy never gives up, does he?

"Well, if I'd have known it was you, I wouldn't have answered. And now that I do know it's you, I'm hanging up." I started pulling the phone away from my ear when someone screamed in the background, and I heard someone scream my name.

"Tala! Please just listen to him! You don't know how cruel it is to everyone else to hear him think about you all the time!"

"Who was that?" I heard another slap, this one sounding even louder than before.

"Paul, sorry about him. Can we please just talk about this?" I heard the desperation in this voice, and it made me kind of sad. But then I thought about what he did to me, and I just got angry again.

"There's nothing to talk about, Embry." I popped my hip and rolled my eyes. As I did, I say smoke coming from the toaster, and then I smelled it.

"Tala, please just-"

"SHIT! I have to go!" I cancelled the call and threw the phone on the counter. I ran over to the toaster. I just stood there, staring at it. What the hell am I supposed to do with a toaster that's about to catch on fire? My breathing was starting to become hard from the smoke, but it was to the point where I had to do something with it or the house would burn down. I plugged my nose and reached my other hand for the plug. I unplugged it from the wall. I stood there for a minute trying to figure out what to do with one hand covering my mouth and the other holding the plug. I smiled as I thought of what to do. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself.

I walked through the hallway dragging the cord. I unlocked the front door and threw the toaster out into the rain. I smiled in defeat as I walked back inside, this time leaving the door open behind me to let the smoke out. I walked back into the black kitchen, coughing as I opened the back door and the windows to let fresh air in. I took in a deep breath and it was already getting cleaner in here.

"What the hell did you do?!" I jumped out of my skin and screamed. I turned around to see Embry standing in the doorway, looking like the Hulk as his face grew redder.

"SOMEONE was distracting me and I wasn't paying attention to the toaster and-" I was cut off by a loud laugh.

"You almost lit your house on fire because of your toaster?" That did sound kind of stupid. I shrunk into my shoulders and nodded like a little girl. This only made him laugh louder and harder.

"Hey, like I said, some stupid, homosexual, hormonal, teenage girl was distracting me." His laughter stopped, and he looked at me through frowning eyes.

"What have I done to deserve this behavior from you? I'm sure if Jake apologized for ditching you, you would forgive him. It's just me you have a problem with."

"Actually, I wouldn't. I'm mad at both of you just the same." That was a huge lie. I don't mind Jake that much, but at the moment I hate Embry and I don't know why.

"Stop lying, you're terrible at it." He snapped at me.

"Fine, you're right. I am madder at you than I am at Jake."

"I knew it!" He let out a pity laugh as he sat down at the kitchen table. He placed his arms on his knees, and rested his head in his hands, just staring at the floor. Part of me wanted to go wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and tell him it was OK, but it wasn't.

"Listen, you should leave. I have to clean this up now, and Carol and my dad will be here soon."

"No they won't, they just left." Wow, creepy.

"How did you know that?" His head snapped up and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I saw them leave." He averted my gaze, and went back in to his angry position.

"Embry…I don't know why I'm mad at you, I honestly don't get it. You're my best friend. I think I'm closer with you than I am with Jake and Quil combined. That's why when you ignored me for weeks I got angry. And then in the car yesterday, I told you not to leave, and you just disappeared. It just seems like you don't care about me at all anymore." I looked down at my hands, and reached my hand to my mouth as I started biting my fingernail again.

"But I do care, especially. I said I was sorry for not talking to you, but I am telling you in all honesty that I couldn't. It was impossible for me to talk to anyone. I barely even spoke with my own mother."

"And why is that? Could Sam Uley and his little cult have anything to do with it?"

"Sam Uley is just helping us, you wouldn't know. No one does." He sounded really angry at my comment, and he started shaking.

"Exactly. No one knows anything about you guys, it's kind of creepy. And it makes me mad that you'd rather be with Sam over me and the guys."

"You think that?" He looked up and I nodded. He stood up from the chair and started walking towards me. I backed up as he came at me, and he saw this and stopped walking, also frowning at his inspection.

"Of course I think that, Em. You're always with them. You have no time for me." I didn't add in Quil's name there, because if I did, I wouldn't really mean it.

"I know, and it sucks. I'm sorry. It's not my fault though, go yell at Sam for that one." I laughed, making him smile for the first time.

"There's a lot of things I want to yell at Sam for." He nodded.

"I'm with you on that one." I laughed again. For the first time since he came back, I felt like he was himself again. When he first came back, he was uptight and nervous all the time. Now, he's finally funny and loose and Embry. I closed the distance between us and walked over and threw my arms around his neck. I didn't realize it, but I started to cry. He was a bit taken a back at first, but then he wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back.

"I missed you." I said after I stopped crying. I felt him inhale in, and I did the same. He smelled like the woods.

"I missed you too, Tal." I smiled, and pulled away from his neck. I looked up to see him smiling back down at me.

"Well, I'm hungry. Want something to eat? Except we can't make anything involving the toaster because I don't have one of those anymore." He laughed, and I laughed along with him. I walked over to the pantry and saw nothing, again.

"Yeah, I'm starved." I turned on my heel and frowned at him. "What now?"

"You know Carol hates me. She thinks I'm fat and wants me to lose weight, thus resulting in no food in the house." Embry rolled his eyes.

"You are not fat. Let's just go out to eat then." Hm, a compliment. Lovely.

"Yeah, sure. I'm just going to go change then." He nodded and I ran upstairs to change. I quickly threw on my favorite pair of jeans and the only clean shirt I had. I stopped in front of the mirror and messed with my hair a little bit. Decent. I ran back down the stairs, and was about to call out to Embry when I heard him whispering on the phone.

"No, Sam, I didn't tell her yet. We just got back on speaking terms, I'll save the horror for later…Yeah…OK, bye." He slammed his phone and put it back in his pocket. Weird…oh well, I guess I'll find out later. I walked into the kitchen.

"Ready?" He looked up at me and smiled. I looked down at myself and saw that my shirt was inside out.

"Uh, your shirt." He laughed and I glared at him.

"I saw, thank you very much." I quickly took it off and turned it back the right way. I looked at Embry while I was putting it back on and laughed. I literally think he was drooling. He saw me look at him, and his eyes went wide and he turned around.

"Jeez, you look like you've never seen boobs before." I heard him let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh god, please tell me you have."

"Of course I have. I'm Embry Call." I laughed loudly at his comment. Boys are so naïve and immature.

"OK, Mr. Cocky. Let's go." He laughed as I lead him out the door. We walked past the burnt toaster.

"You should do something with that or Carol will have your head on a silver platter for dinner."

"Gross. No, I'm going to revolt against her and wait to see what she says about it. It'll be funny. Maybe I'll make some popcorn and watch her attack like Godzilla."

"You are a strange person, Tala Marie." I held my chin up high.

"Thank you, Embry Joel." He beamed when I said his name. Something was strange about him lately. He seems so different even though I know it's the same person. It's like he's…in love. I've seen it in the movies, and its how my dad acted when he first fell in love with Carol. I wonder who it is. Maybe I know her already.

"Earth to Tal." I hand was waving in front of my face. I blinked and looked at Embry.

"Sorry. That was weird. I just spaced out for a minute."

"Dreaming about me?" I snorted.

"You wish. Were you saying something?" He went on with what he was talking about. I didn't really pay attention, I was just kind of nodding and saying yeah every once in a while. What I was really doing was studying him. No, that sounds too creepy. I was watching how he was acting. It was so different. He was so much more open, which I didn't think was possible. He seemed so much lighter, and carefree. He was without a doubt in love. Now I just had to find out who it was. We were halfway through lunch when he stopped talking about whatever it was he was talking about and asked me what was wrong. I was going to reply nothing, but my guts got the best of me.

"Who is she?" His mouth hung open and his food fell out of his mouth. "Gross, we are in public just to let you know." He closed his mouth and swallowed so hard I could hear it.

"Who is who?"

"The girl. I've been watching you, I wasn't really listening to your one-way conversation. You're different."

"I think anyone could look at me and know I'm different."

"Well, obviously. But your attitude has changed. Your personality has changed. You're a changed man, Em. Now who is she?!" I jumped a little in my seat. I was excited that he finally found someone. But something inside me felt wrong. It felt like jealousy.

"Calm down! OK, well you know her." My eyes widened. Great, that makes it so much better.

"What else? Maybe a name?" He shook his head. "Why not?"

"I'm not telling you that today, maybe later, but not now." I frowned.

"So, what's she like?" He smiled. Lovely, he smiles just thinking about her. I'm nothing compared to that. Wait, why do I care?

"Perfect. Every time she laughs, I can't help but laugh along with her. She's the nicest, funniest, coolest person I've ever met. She lights up the room when she walks in. She's the only one who can calm me down, make me feel better, or laugh when I'm in a bad mood. She's my other half, and I think I'm in love with her." I let out a sigh.

"Wow. She sounds…" I trailed off, I honestly didn't want to finish that sentence. She's just what he said, perfect.

"Amazing. Astonishing. Breathtaking."

"OK, I get it. Don't make me puke up what I just ate." He laughed, and continued talking, but I couldn't pay attention. I was too busy thinking of who this mystery girl is. I didn't even know he talked to anyone else besides me, Quil, and Jake. I guess I just miss a lot of things.

After we finished lunch, he took me home. He hung out with me for a little bit, but Sam called and he had to leave. So I was home alone again. I decided to go get the toaster because I wasn't in the mood to be yelled at by Carol. Embry telling me about that girl really put me in a bad mood and I don't know why. Because he's my best friend, so why would I care? I should be happy for him, but I'm jealous. This can't mean…

No, I can't let myself believe it. There is no way that I'm falling for him. But I do think about him a lot, and I did worry about him the entire time he was gone. And it explains why I was so mad at him, and why I care about him so much more than Quil or Jacob.

"Fuck!" I slapped my forehead because I just realized that I was falling for Embry Call, my best friend.


	5. Chapter 5

So I'd explain why this is so late, but there's too many reasons and I feel bad enough as it is. SORRY! But I put a lot of time into this and I hope you enjoy it !

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I tilted my head as I stood there staring at them. What makes her so special? Why does he look at her like she's the most beautiful thing on this earth? Because I know for a fact she's not. I'm not being rude, I'm just being honest. But yet, he still doesn't care how everyone who walks past stares at them being so cute. I wish Embry would notice me like that.

"They're pretty gross, aren't they?" I jumped as I looked up to see Embry. My body instantly relaxed.

"No, I think they're cute. They way Jared looks at her is so…" I trailed off, thinking he knew what I meant.

"Disgusting?" I laughed and slapped him across the chest.

"Adorable. I can tell that he loves her more than anything else." I looked back at them. He had his hands around his hips, and she wouldn't stop blushing. But it didn't matter, because she was still talking to him like she didn't care. Then he said something that made her laugh, and as she did, he watched her with wondrous eyes. Life sucks. I let out a loud sigh and tore my eyes off of them.

"Is something wrong?" I had totally forgotten that Embry was still by me. I grew embarrassed because he probably noticed that I was staring at them.

"Nope." I looked down at my shoes. I knew he could tell when I was lying. Hopefully he wouldn't notice and-

"Obviously something's wrong." Gr. Curse me and my horrible lying skills.

"Darn, I thought I was going to get away with that one." He snickered, and then waited for my response. But I didn't say anything else because I didn't want to. My problem was that I was longing to kiss him, touch him, or even just tell him what I was feeling for him, but I knew I couldn't. It would just ruin our friendship, and I'd rather be secretly in love with my best friend than heartbroken over someone that hates me.

"Well tell me. I'll solve whatever problems you have." I looked up to meet his eyes. He didn't mean that. When I told him, he'd probably laugh, or look at me in horror and run away. Liar. I was about to open my mouth to say no, but the bell rang. I smiled in defeat.

"Saved by the bell." He rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you at lunch." I stuck my tongue out at him before he turned around, smiling, as he walked away. I felt like he was dragging me by my heart as he walked down the hall. I just wanted to run up behind him and…I don't even know. I'm becoming so gross. I sighed again and started walking the opposite direction to English. I walked in and saw Jake sitting in his usual seat next to me. Looking at him, I thought about how much all of my friends have changed. When did they all become these huge men? It seems like it was just yesterday when we were all running around in diapers. Not that I would remember that.

"Tala!" I swallowed the lump in my throat and faked a smile back. Truly, underneath the smile was fear. What is going on in La Push that's making everyone so huge?

"Hey." Jake stood up, and made his way around the desks to give me a hug. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and instantly jumped back.

"What's wrong?" He looked at me with worried eyes.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so hot?" He flashed a cocky smile.

"Well, some say it comes from my dad but I think-"

"That's not what I meant. Your temperature is like a hundred above mine." His eyes widened as if he forgot something, and then relaxed again.

"I was super sick, so my temperature is highly above normal. But don't worry, it's not contagious." I was suspicious. Now that I think about it, Embry was just as warm as him, I just hadn't realized it at them time. I didn't say anything, but my mind was racing as he started asking questions about homework and such.

Why were they so hot? And why had they grown so much in size? There has to be some reason. I tried to think of something. Then it came to me. My grandpa used to tell us the legends about our tribe. And I remember him saying something about heat and super strength, but I was missing the main element. I tried to think of it the whole period, but I couldn't. I knew I had to find out. I stared at the clock until it finally rang. I bolted out of the classroom, running down the hall and into the bathroom. I locked the door, and checked under the stalls to make sure no one was in here. I reached into my purse and grabbed my phone.

I dialed the number. It's been so long, I can't believe I still remembered it. It rang for what seemed like hours until someone finally answered.

"Hello?" Sounded like he just woke up, so I glanced to the clock to see it was only 10:36. Opps, my bad.

"Grandpa? It's Tala." There was a pause, a cough, and then another silence.

"Tala? What's wrong? Why are you calling so early?" I smiled to myself.

"Ten thirty isn't that early. And I'm at school. I just needed to ask you a question. It'll bother me if I don't find out soon, and I knew you'd be the only one to answer it." I bit my nail, hoping he would take my bait.

"OK, hurry it up then. I don't want you to miss too much school." I sighed in relief.

"Thanks. Do you remember those myths you used to tell me when I was little?"

"Of course, the ones about our tribe?" He remembered.

"Yeah! Those ones. What were they about?" Please, please, please remember this, Grandpa. I need this. I keep thinking to myself and doubting that he would remember.

"Why do you need to know? Why is it so important right now?" I rolled my eyes. Maybe he's where I get my stubbornness from.

"Because I was thinking about them. And I remember about the strange body temperature, and the strength, but I couldn't remember what it was related to." The second bell rang, and I hoped he didn't pay attention to it. Luckily, he didn't.

"Tala, why do you care?"

"I just need to know!" I realized how loud I was being and told myself to be quiet. Someone would notice me, and then I'd get a detention.

"Wait, don't tell me this is happening to you." I laughed.

"No, it's not. But it is happening to my friends and-" Shit. I wasn't supposed to say that. Now he'll never tell me.

"Tala. Come over right now. I'll call you out of school, just get over as soon as you can."

"Grandpa, I can't just skip school." But then line was already dead. What the fuck? I threw my phone in my purse, extremely pissed. I took a deep breath in, trying to remember on my own. But it was worthless. I couldn't do it. I know I needed to go over to his house, but I didn't want to. Why did he react so strangely? He seems so worried and scared. Maybe I should be too then. No, these are my friends. Plus, how bad could it be? It's just La Push.

I walked over to the mirror, and looked at myself. I actually attempted to look nice today. I put on a small amount of makeup and let my hair fall down my back. Embry didn't say anything, so it didn't even matter that I spent an hour trying to put eyeliner on. I ran a hand through my hair and closed my eyes. I pictured Embry with his hands on my hips, making me laugh.

"Stop!" I slapped my forehead and turned on my heel. I unlocked the door, and stuck my head out to see if there was hall monitors. Coast is clear. I sprinted out of the bathroom and down the hall towards the door. I was a foot away from it, but then a dark shadow stepped out from behind the corner and I ran right into him.

"Where are you going?" I rubbed my forehead and looked up to see a very angry Jacob.

"I…uh…forgot something in my car." He raised his eyebrows, testing my story. But I didn't move. Maybe I was getting a little better at this lying thing.

"OK, fine. But hurry back, you're already late for class. Plus, if Embry finds out I let you out he'd kill me." I heard that comment, and kept to myself. Why would Embry care so much? Jake held the door open for me, and I ran out into the rain. When I reached my car, I looked back to see Jake still standing inside, just watching me.

"Sorry." I whispered under my breath and whipped the car door open. I turned the key, and right away I was in reverse, then driving out of the parking lot. It all happened so fast. I felt so good. I had so much energy. I felt like an escaping prisoner.

After about a twenty minute drive, I was pulling into the driveway of the old, falling apart, green house. My grandma's station wagon was still in the open garage. It almost made me cry that he wouldn't get rid of it. My eyes traveled across the front of the house, which hadn't changed one bit, and stopped to see my grandpa standing in the doorway. I opened the door, and stepped out of the car. I walked up to the door, and stopped right in front of him. He had tears in his eyes, it has been about seven years since I've seen him.

"Hey." Looking at him was making me cry too. I let out a loud sob and wrapped my arms around his neck. It wasn't my fault that we hadn't spoken to him, ask my dad about that one. After my grandma died, my dad got married to Carol, and grandpa didn't approve of her, saying he was only getting married 'cause grandma just died. Then my dad yelled at me and said I was forbidden to speak to him. I felt kind of bad, just ditching him like that, but I was afraid of what Carol would make my dad do if they found out. Now, not so much.

"Come on inside." I nodded, and let go of his neck. I walked through the doorway, and looked around. It looked no different than it had seven years ago. I laughed to myself.

"Never got around to changing anything?" I asked as I picked up a picture frame from the coffee table. It was a picture of me when I was around four. I was sitting on my dad's shoulders smiling my head off. I wish we were still that close.

"No, I don't want to. It still hurts too much. I don't think it'll ever stop." I frowned. Part of it was my fault. Maybe if we didn't leave him, he would have healed from her death a little better. But my dad was their only child, so he honestly had no family to help him. I put the picture frame back down on the table, and then he reached across my body to straighten it out.

"Do you have water?" He nodded and walked towards the kitchen. I followed him, making my way around certain piles of what seemed to be trash. He opened a cabinet and grabbed a glass. He turned the sink on, and brown water poured out.

"Actually, no. Sorry, I just wasn't expecting company." He looked down and played with the glass in his hands. He was embarrassed.

"Its fine, I don't really need it." I sent him a warm smile, and he smiled back. I sat down at the table. The chair squeaked as I shifted my weight, trying to get comfortable. He put the cup back in the cabinet, closed it, and walked over to sit across from me.

"So, you said some of your friends are going through the legends?" I nodded.

"First, it was Embry. I don't know if you remember him." He searched through his memory and tried to think about him. Then he smiled and laughed.

"Of course I remember him." I smiled back at him.

"Then it happened to Jake, and now Quil's gone too and I don't know what it is." He nodded, and settled back in his chair. He crossed his arms, and lowered his eyes at me.

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, I already told you. I remember you telling us the legends but…I just can't remember what it was. I remember all of the details-the changing body and temperature, and all the abilities. They do all match up to my friends too, but I just can't think of it. I draw a blank when I try to remember." He nodded and closed his eyes.

"I don't think you want to know, Tala." His eyes opened. I could tell he really didn't want to tell me.

"Why?"

"It might ruin your friendship. You'll them in a different way."

"I don't know what you mean. It can't be that bad." He didn't respond. Maybe it was bad. What if they're like in some weird cult, killing people?

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I mean, not even Embry or Jake or Quil. This is only for your ears." I bit my lip. Do I really want to know this?

"Fine. Just tell me already." I jumped a little in my seat.

"They're werewolves." The minute he said it, my mind jogged back to when I was a little kid. I was sitting on his lap, and the three guys were all sitting around a fire. He told us the legends about our tribe being descendants from wolves. Everything made perfect sense.

"I remember now."

"I knew you would. Listen if-" I stood up from the table. I ran into the living room and grabbed my coat. I slid one arm through, and grandpa came running in.

"I have to leave."

"I wish you would stay. I want to talk to you about this."

"I'll come back later. Tomorrow maybe. But I have to do something." I looked up, and he nodded. I walked over and hugged him.

"I missed you. Tala, don't you ever do that to me again." I smiled.

"Take it up with the evil step-mother." He laughed, and I ran towards the door. When I made it to my car, I turned it on and was out of the driveway before the radio even turned on. When it did, I just shut if off.

Why wouldn't they just tell me? They know that I'd figure it out eventually. It makes me mad that I can't be a part of it. They probably see each other 24/7, and I see them for eight hours, not even, and that's just school. Now they're going to be best friends, and I'll be kicked out and left with no one.

It especially makes me mad that Embry didn't tell me. He knew that I knew something was up, so why not just be forward with me? I thought we were closer than that to keep secrets. I hate him. H's never honest, and it seems like he doesn't care about me.

You don't mean that. You love him. You have to stop yourself from drooling when you see him. Every time he laughs, so do you. He's your world.

STOP! What's wrong with me? Why am I thinking these things? So what if I love him? It's not like he'd ever feel the same way about me. I just need to get over him, a fresh start with everything. I need to stay away from all of them and maybe I'll be able to do that.

I pulled into the driveway of my house. Hopefully my grandpa called me out like he said he would. If not, I'd just delete the voicemail from the school. And no cars were in the driveway, which means I'll be home alone. I walked up the steps and opened the door. I walked through and dropped my bag on the floor as I took my shoes off. I heard a loud thump upstairs.

"Hello?" Another loud thump. I swallowed hard. I ran into the kitchen and pulled open a drawer. I grabbed the sharpest knife we had, and turned back around. I made my way up the stairs quietly. I heard something fall on the floor, and someone mumbling. Then a second voice joined in, and soon enough there was a third.

"She knows something, I just don't know what."

"She knows nothing. They wouldn't tell a human." Are they talking about Embry?

"I was running throw the woods, and I heard her talking to some old guy about. Trust me, she knows."

I reached the second floor, and started tiptoeing down the hall. Before I opened the door, I took a deep breath in and listened to the conversation. But it had stopped. The loud thumping had stopped too. Maybe they left? I turned the handle and pushed open the door.

Suddenly, everything was black. I screamed, but nothing came out. My heart started beating fast, and I was starting to lose my breath. The only thing I could think about was Embry. I would never get to tell him how I felt before I died. That's it, I'm dying. Someone's kidnapping me, and I'm going to die.

"Don't worry, Tala. It'll all be over soon." I started drifting into blackness, but before I could, I heard a loud growl and a pop.

I love you, Embry. I'm so sorry.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm a terrible person, I know. Blah, blah, blah. SORRY! I don't have enough time anymore, but I happened to get sick and instead of laying in bed all day, I wrote this. Enjoy. :)

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"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine." A gentle, warm hand brushed my cheek. I leaned into it, and smiled, inhaling the familiar scent.

"Who's singing? It sounds awful." I heard a chuckle in the distance, but I didn't have to open my eyes to know it was Quil.

"Hey, I was just trying to wake you up. You hit your head pretty hard back there." I slowly opened my eyes to see Embry sitting as close as he possibly could to me, making me feel uncomfortable but also very warm.

"What happened?" I tried to sit up, but my head felt like it was caving in, making me wince.

"Hey, slow down." It was then that I realized his hand around my body, supporting my back. I looked up to meet his eyes, only a few inches from mine. I noticed how stressed he looked. His hair was pulled in all directions, and it looked like he had been crying, which was probably false.

"I'm fine." I slapped his hand off of my back, and slowly sat up straight. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. I then remembered the conversation I had with my grandpa. I got the goose bumps just thinking about it. I flashed a quick glance at Embry, who was staring at me with worried eyes.

"So, are you going to answer my question now?" He seemed to snap himself back to reality, and I rolled my eyes. I don't know if I should tell him I know what he is, or if I should wait and see if he'll eventually tell me. I scanned the room, not recognizing where we are. We're sitting on an old, run down couch that's placed in a very small living room.

"Well, first of all, welcome to Sam's." I quickly looked back at Embry.

"Why am I at Sam Uley's? That's it, I want to go home." I stood up, almost falling over, but before I could, Embry's strong hands were on my hips in a matter of milliseconds. Stupid werewolf instincts.

"You will go home. I just brought you here so Emily could check on you." Emily, as in Sam's Emily? This is too weird.

"Well, if I knew what happened maybe I could help." I looked down, still seeing his hands on my hips. The minute he saw me look, he dropped them into his own lap.

"Why don't you sit down? I'll get you a glass of water, and I'll explain everything." He stood up and started pushing me to sit down, but I somehow got his hands off of my shoulders.

"I don't want a fucking glass of water! I'm fine! Just tell me what the hell happened!" I didn't mean to scream, I guess it kind of just came out that way. Embry stared at me, looking kind of scared and lost. He just blinked, licked his lips, and blinked again.

"Is something wrong?" I broke my glare from Embry, and saw Sam standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I've been kidnapped." Sam laughed and took a sip of water, then set it down on the little table he was standing by. He walked towards me and sat down next to Embry.

"It's nice to see you again. Even under these circumstances." He had a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. What a prick.

"Sure, you too. Since Embry over there won't tell me what happened, will you?" He glanced at Embry, raised his eyebrows, and Embry rolled his eyes. He started walking towards the back door, but stopped halfway.

"Why do I have to leave? She's my-" Sam cut him off.

"That's why. Go." He sounded like a king or something, and Embry listened like a dog. Ha, oh the irony. The minute Em was out the door, Sam turned to me. He waited for me to say something, but I had nothing to say.

"Is everything alright? I thought I heard someone screaming when I was in the shower, but I didn't-" A woman came walking into the room. The only word that came to mind was scar. There was this huge scar running down the side of her beautiful face. I know it's rude to stare, but I couldn't help it. I heard Sam let out something like a growl next to me, and I snapped back. He walked over to her, and grabbed her with a passion that is unknown to me. She laughed as he whispered something in her ear, and then she saw me.

"Sam. We have company, stop." She giggled, but then he finally gave up and stepped away so that he was holding her by the hip.

"Sorry. Let's talk." I was down right scared of him after that growl. For all I know, he's a werewolf too. The woman disappeared into the kitchen, then came back with a plate full of cookies.

"Hello, sweetie. My name's Emily." She placed that plate down on the coffee table, and stuck an arm out for me to shake.

"I'm Tala, but you probably already knew that, right?" I couldn't help but let the anger in my voice roll of my tongue.

"Oh, she's feisty. Just what we need." She laughed. We? What is this, some kind of cult?

"Alright, Emily. I'm sorry to ask you to leave, but we have some business to discuss." He gave her a look, probably not meant for my eyes, and she understood immediately. She nodded, and started walking away. But then she bounced on her heel just as Sam started to open his mouth.

"I almost forgot! I made those cookies especially for you. Embry said you love oatmeal, so I made them. Take as many as you like." She smiled again before returning to the kitchen. I felt kind of sad for her. Such a pretty and nice woman, yet she's cursed with those scars.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" He sat down across from me in a tiny armchair. He reached across the table, and handed me a cookie. I took it, not wanting to be rude. But honestly, I am anything but hungry.

"Yes, she seems like a nice lady." I bit into the cookie, trying to calm my stomach down. But it was full of waves of nerves. I knew what Sam wanted to talk to me about, but I didn't want to face the truth in it. He finished his cookie in one bite, and wiped his hands clean on his pants.

"So, I think you know why I want to talk to you." I nodded and placed the cookie down on the table.

"Uh…yeah. I know…um..." I felt awkward. I looked around the room for an escape. The nearest one was the back door, which seemed like a bad idea because Embry was probably still back there.

"What we are?" I looked back at Sam, who seemed calm and collected.

"Yes." I nodded as I spoke.

"I know, I talked to Todd."

"You know my grandpa?" He nodded.

"Of course, he's on the Council."

"Council of what?"

"LaPush."

"Really?" I sank back into the couch. I guess seven years will do that to you.

"Yeah, he's one of the oldest ones. He called me very upset about the whole situation. He told me you were going home, so I came over as soon as I could."

"Were you the one in my room when I got home?" He closed his eyes.

"You remember that?"

"Of course I do. Was it you?" He shook his head.

"We thought you forgot about that."

"What's going on? What else could possibly be going on beside the fact that you're all werewolves?" My voice had begun to shake. I felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks. I knew that if I said it out loud, I would have to recognize it as a fact, not just part of my imagination.

"Our job, why we exist, is to protect LaPush from them." The word them was filled with suck hatred.

"Them?" He looked away. He looked back at me, stronger than before.

"Vampires." I let out a little chuckle.

"I can't help but feel that this whole thing is some kind of sick joke." He stood up, and took a seat next to me.

"It's not a joke, Tala. This is the truth. The vampires we've been chasing for the past couple of days heard you talking to Todd, and beat you to your house to surprise you. They wanted information about us. They said they weren't going to kill you, but from my experience…" He trailed off. I looked into his eyes. He wasn't kidding.

"I…I don't get it. Why me?" He smiled a bit.

"You're not even the tiniest bit scared of me, of us?" I shook my head.

"Why would I be? It doesn't matter to me what you are." His smile widened.

"I think you should talk to Embry now." My eyes widened.

"No. I mean…I don't know. He's probably still mad at me."

"He could never be mad at you, Tala. Go, talk to him. It'll be fine." He stood up, walking towards the kitchen to be with Emily.

"Wait! What happened to the vampires in my house?"

"Taken care of, don't worry about them anymore. Be careful," He winked at me then turned around again. I breathed out, and sucked another sharp breath in. I stood up. It's now or never kid. Tell him how you feel. I walked towards the front door, and closed my eyes as I opened it. I walked through it and right into something.

"Ow!" I screamed out as I fell back on my butt.

"Oh god, Tala! I am so sorry! _Shit_! Embry is going to kill me!" I opened my eyes to see Jake crouching down next to me. I couldn't help but laugh as he helped me back onto my feet.

"No, it's my fault. I wasn't looking. Sorry about earlier. I needed to deal with some things." He nodded, like he knew what I was talking about.

"It's fine, really. I didn't get in trouble for letting you go, so it's all cool."

"I'm glad. Have you seen Embry?" He seemed to think about it.

"Depends. What's in it for me?" I rolled my eyes and grabbed my wallet. They always find a way to get money out of me. His hand brushed over mine, and I looked up to see him laughing.

"What?"

"I was kidding, and I don't want your money. He went home."

"Thanks, I owe you one." I ran past him and saw that my car was not here. His house is only a few blocks from here, I think I'll live.

"Go get him, tiger." I heard Jake yell behind me as I ran down the street. I don't know why I started running. I guess I just wanted to get to his house. I planned it out in my head. Hs mom wouldn't be home yet, so he'd have to answer the door. Then the minute he did, I'd jump in his arms and kiss him. That ought to do the trick.

Within minutes, I was standing in front of his house, struggling to catch my breath. But I didn't care. I ran up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. I heard footsteps coming to answer the door. When it swung open, I wasn't expecting what I saw.

"Can I help you?" A girl in a towel with wet hair stared back at me. She was beautiful as well. Her wet hair was short and black. Her skin was dark, but her eyes were bright blue.

"Um, no. I-I think I have the wrong address." She nodded and slammed the door in my face. I stared at the door in disbelief. What just happened? Embry had another girl over, that's what. Maybe that's the girl he was talking about at lunch. She seemed pretty enough to match his description.

Why do I care anyway? He's my best friend, I should be happy for him.

But something inside me screams. You stupid girl! You told yourself all along that you loved him, when clearly he doesn't see you in the same light.

I don't go home. I wonder around aimlessly with no where to go. That bastard broke my heart, and he probably doesn't even know it.

Well, I won't let him know. He'll see what he missed out on. He'll be begging on his knees for me. Hopefully.


	7. Chapter 7

WOOH. This chapter has a lot, sooooo yeah. :)

Anyone else DYING to see eclipse? I AM !!!

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Two weeks, four days, and a couple of hours.

That's how long it's been since I've talked to Embry. Sure, I've seen him around school. And at my house…and everywhere else I went, but I haven't talked to him. I'm positive that if I tried, I would just end up punching a wall or his face.

There have been millions of phone calls and notes. In the beginning he did try to talk to me, but I ignored him and he got frustrated. I even got a dozen roses the after the first week, which was weird cause it's not like we were romantically involved or anything…

But I wish we were. Just because I don't talk to him anymore, doesn't mean I can't look. I can only catch a glimpse of him everyday because every other second he's the one staring at me and I don't want to show him I'm weak. But that one glimpse is all it takes for me to get through the day. As much as I know he doesn't have the same feelings for me, I can't help myself. I have to use all my strength to hold myself back every morning so that I won't run up and do something that would embarrass me.

_He has someone else now. _I swallowed a lump in my throat when this thought came into my head. Her face popped in my head. Every time I see it, I find it more and more beautiful. And she would have to be so breathtaking to have caught Embry. He always talked about getting married to someone who would make everyone envy him.

I let out a loud, sad sigh and straightened myself up. I looked around to see a few people still taking the math test which I had finished in about ten minutes. I glanced at the clock the second the bell rang. My stomach twisted. You see, next period was lunch, and since my little situation I didn't have anyone to sit with besides Mike. He noticed something was wrong with me, and he doesn't really try to talk to me anymore.

I took my time walking in the hall, making sure I wasn't too early for lunch. When I made it to the cafeteria, it was only half full, meaning I didn't take enough time. I was about to reach for the door when someone stepped in front of me and held it open.

"Here, let me get that for you." I looked up to see Paul holding the door. I stood with my eyebrows raised. He tilted his head impatiently for me to walk forward. I looked down at my black cast, then back up to him. I almost thought about saying thanks, but I walked in without looking back up at him.

"Tala! Wait." I stopped abruptly and waited for him to catch up with me.

"What would you like? Maybe to break my other arm?" I stretched my un-broken arm out for him to stare at.

"I was just going to say sorry, but if you're going to be a bitch about it, then I won't apologize. You deserved it." I snorted at how angry he was with me.

"I'm the bitch now? I think that's funny. Can I ask why you broke your arm?" His fists clenched into balls, and I knew I should have stopped before something bad happened but I didn't want to. He smiled as he thought, and then he spoke.

"Technically, you're the one who fell over. I didn't touch you." Shit, he was right. I rolled my eyes and started walking again, making my way to my table.

"Will you stop walking away from me when I'm trying to apologize?" I shook my head and kept walking, but I could hear his footsteps behind me. When I reached my table, Mike looked past me and his eyes widened. I sat down and felt someone sit next to me.

"I thought you weren't going to apologize cause I'm a bitch, remember?" He laughed.

"I feel bad about your arm. I'm sorry. Really really sorry." I turned my head to see him only about two feet away from me. My breath hitched, and I studied his face. His eyes told me that he wasn't lying, and I nodded.

"Fine, apology accepted. But that doesn't mean I like you now. You're still my number one arch enemy." I heard someone cough, and we both turned to see Mike turning red.

"Is he OK?" My eyes widened and I didn't know what to do.

"Paul, do something!" I hit his arm, but he just looked at me like I was crazy and then laughed. He thought this was a joke!

"You know, I should have never been so mean to you, I like you." He winked and then stood up and started walking away.

"UGH! What an idiot!" I yelled. I was getting so nervous because I didn't know what to do about Mike. I stood up quickly and ran around the table to where he was sitting. I looked awkwardly at my hands, then at a purple Mike. I whipped around to the table behind us, which was full of freshman.

"Can someone go get help, this kid is like dying." Most of them just laughed at me. There was one girl who nodded and ran over to a teacher. I turned back to my table to see someone giving Mike the Heimlich. At first I thought it was Paul, but then I realized he wasn't wearing that shirt. I knew who it was; I just didn't want to admit it. I wanted to step in and help, but I didn't want to get involved with him. So I just sat down at an empty seat at the freshman table, hoping that he wouldn't notice me.

"That seat is taken." A little boy said. I glared at him, making his friends laugh. He raised his chin and thought he was so cool for talking back to me.

"Oh shut up, little fucker." A girl sitting on one side of him laughed, and her friend poked her on the side. I stuck my tongue out at the boy, making the whole table laugh and his face turn red.

I missed a lot of action while I turned my head. The teacher had called the nurse, and she was now pushing Em out of the way to revive Mike. Embry was standing there, staring. And not at the purple Mike, but at me. Well my plan didn't work. I turned myself around to look at the little boy who called me out. All of their heads turned and looked up, but I looked down at my lap.

"We need to talk sometime, Tala." I bit my lip, and looked over to see the girl who had gone to get the teacher was sitting back down. She smiled at me, and I nodded my head back. I sucked in a shaky breath, and stood up from the table.

"Well, as fun as this was, I have to go." I waved awkwardly and stood there. One guy winked at me, and a girl waved back.

"I'm Tala, by the way."

"I'm Sue." One girl replied.

"I'm Jack," said the boy who winked.

"And I'm Embry. Nice meeting you all," he grabbed my arm and dragged me with him as he stormed across the cafeteria. I watched the freshman all begin to talk as I was being forced to my death.

"Let go of me, Embry. I'm not a little kid, I can make my own decisions. And my current one is to either punch you in the face or kick you in the balls. You choose." He let go of my arm, and I was instantly relieved. I went to reach for it, but before I could touch it, he was holding it again, this time not as vicious.

"Damn, I'm sorry. You could have told me I was hurting you." I pulled my arm away from him and looked up.

"You weren't. Listen, I know we need to talk, but not here. Not now." I looked around to see random tables listening into out conversation. When they saw me looking, their heads turned back.

"I'm afraid you won't let me talk to you at any other time." I looked back to see him staring at me, watching every move I made.

"Maybe. Tell me why, exactly, do we need to talk?" He closed his eyes tight, and let out an angry breath.

"You have to hear what I need to say." His voice lowered and he stepped closer to me. Normally, I would have backed up, but I've been away from him so long that I needed this. I breathed in his scent, trying to memorize it before I went away again.

"There's nothing you can say, Em." His eyes slowly opened, and a smile twisted at his lips.

"Say that again."

"There's nothing you can say?" He shook his head.

"Not that. My name, say my name." Is he going crazy?

"Embry?" His smile widened. I wanted to laugh at him and call him nuts, but it would only make things worse for me. I would get my hopes up that we were talking again, but the truth is that he only wants me as a friend, and nothing else.

"You don't know how good that sounds." I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes.

"You're right, I don't. Call me later. I can't do this right now." My voice cracked as the unshed tears from the past two weeks started flowing down my cheeks. I looked back up, wiping the tears from my face with my sleeve. He was reaching out for me but I turned and started running away.

I continued running until I made it outside. I clutched my chest and leaned against a railing. There were some juniors and seniors walking in and out to go off campus for lunch, but I didn't acknowledge them.

"Are you okay?" I wiped my face again and took a deep breath. I looked to see a group of junior guys, but only one talked. He said something to his friends and they laughed and walked away. The boy walked closer to me and put an arm around my back.

"I'm fine. I didn't think anyone noticed me."

"It's hard not to. You're kind of loud, you know, when you're crying." I laughed a little, and he smiled too.

"I'm Tala." I stuck out a hand, a gesture I usually hate, but something inside me made me do it.

"Ryan." He took my hand kindly, and quickly let it go.

"Well, this is embarrassing." I laughed as I looked away, turning red in my cheeks.

"It's fine, I was just wondering if you were OK. You don't have to tell me anything, I was just being a kind stranger."

"Well, thanks. I should probably get back inside anyway." For the first time, I noticed it was raining, not a big surprise.

"Unless…" My head snapped over to see him watching me. It wasn't the same as when Embry watched me. I felt a little creeped out when Ryan was looking at me like this.

"What?" I asked, too afraid to go back inside.

"We could ditch and go somewhere. It seems like it's not your day." I smiled and looked away. Today was a terrible day, due to the conversation between Embry and I. But something about this kid was off, and I didn't know if I should ditch school to go out with him.

_Make Embry jealous._ The idea had totally slipped my mind until now. It was my first plan when I met the other girl, but I gave up because the lack of a guy to make him jealous was a problem. But now that I had one that seemed pretty interested, why not do it?

"You're right, it is not my day." He smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say yes, you seem interesting. And you're very beautiful." I blushed.

"Thanks? Maybe we should get going, it's starting to rain pretty hard." He nodded, and started walking to the stairs. I followed him all the way to his car without a word. His car was nice, but nothing fancy. He didn't hold my door open, not like I was expecting it or anything. We sat in the car, not moving or talking.

"So, you have any idea where we could go?" I laughed.

"I thought you did." He shook his head.

"Nope." Well this is awkward. I guess I'm a bad judge of character. I should have gone with my gut and turned him down when I had the chance.

"I don't know about you, but if I don't call the office and tell them I left, then my dad will kill me." This time, he laughed at me.

"Where's the fun in ditching if you call the office?" I shrugged my shoulders and started to reach for my purse, but I didn't have it.

"Shit." I sat back in my seat.

"What now?" That was rude. I looked at him, not realizing I was giving him a dirty look.

"I forgot my purse in the cafeteria when I ran out." I was getting irritated, and I didn't like the way he was looking at me.

"Do you need it, or are you trying to ditch me now?"

"Both." He rolled his eyes and turned the car on. He was pulling out of the parking spot before I could do anything. I contemplated opening the door and rolling out, but it was locked and there was no way to unlock it.

"That's not nice. I was nice to you and comforted you earlier."

"I never asked you to. And that doesn't give you the right to be an asshole to me." He chuckled. He pulled his car into an empty parking lot, and turned the car off. I glared at him and reached for the door, but he shook his head and reached for my arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" He was staring at my chest, and I felt self-conscious. I wrapped my sweater around myself tighter.

"Back to school to get my purse, and then to my next class"

"I don't think so. You owe me for talking to you back there." He leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed him away.

"Get off of me, sicko!" He started turning red, and then let out a hot breath.

"You can cooperate and this will go smoothly, or you can struggle and it'll be more fun for me." He grabbed my face in one hand and clenched it tight. He dug his thumb into my cheek until I felt skin rip. The look on his face told me he was ready to kill me if I wouldn't go along with it. I nodded, and closed my eyes, hoping it would be over soon. He leaned in to kiss me again.

It was disgusting. He forced his tongue into my mouth. After a while of me sitting there and him sucking each breath from my throat, he started kissing down my neck. His hand touched my leg, and started moving up and up. I was about ready to throw up when I opened my eyes. I had a clear shot at the unlock button. I tried to reach for it without him noticing, but he was getting angry, I could tell. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I pushed him so his back was against his door. He looked at me surprised, and I started kissing his neck.

"I knew you'd come around, they always do." They? How many people has he done this to? I twisted my hands around his back, and pushed the button. I reached out and opened his door, and pushed him out of it. I heard a smack and then a shout.

"Bitch!" He screamed as he hit the ground.

I shut the door and locked it before he had time to get up. I turned the car on and pulled away without looking back at the bastard I left there.

I parked it in the same spot that it was in before. I left the keys in the ignition, hoping that someone would get to it before he did. I ran back into the school, but there was a group of guys standing outside waiting for someone. They were his friends. They quieted when they saw me walking up the front stairs.

"Not this time, boys. And probably never again." They stared at me as I ran inside, ducking from the rain.

The first place I went was the cafeteria, which was empty except for the janitors. I walked slowly over to my table to see my purse in the same place I left it. Of course no one saw it.

I sat down at the table and thought if I should go talk to someone about Ryan. If there were others, like he said, then I had to. Those poor girls were victims too, and I had to be the on to speak for them. But I could imagine all the shit I would get from everyone, especially Embry.

I decided to do it because I had to tell someone. So I walked slowly to the main office and pushed the door open. The secretary, Mrs. White, smiled as she looked up at me, but when she saw me, the smile wiped off of her face.

"Sweetie, what happened to you?" I turned around and looked at my face in the glass on the door. My right cheek was full of blood, both fresh and dry. I turned back around and looked at Mrs. White.

"I need to talk to someone who can help me."

And so I spent the rest of the school day and most of after school telling my story seven times. They passed me from Mrs. White, to the principal, to the school cops, to the town cops, and so on. I finally got home at around 8, only to have my dad waiting to hear it again.

"Tala, I'm so sorry. That shouldn't have happened to you." He hugged me and cried, but I didn't. My plans to make Embry jealous had only backfired and had nearly gotten me raped. I was sick of playing this stupid game with him; I just needed to talk to him.

I ate, and did some homework. By the time I was laying in bed it was 11. I had gotten a lot of phone calls, but I didn't take any of them. It's funny how fast the word travels around. My dad wanted me to stay home tomorrow, but that's the last thing I wanted.

I started playing with my cast because I couldn't fall asleep. I'm such a mess. I have a broken arm. Speaking of which, my dad says only about a week left before I get the nasty thing off my arm. Today, a loser that I sit with at lunch almost died. Embry had finally talked to me, but I got angry so I jumped in a car with a stranger. And looked what happened with that. I'm sure I'll be the girl everyone laughs at and talks about for a while.

I heard light taps at my window, and knew instantly who it was.

"Go away." He could hear me, I knew it.

"Tala! Please!" Told you. I rolled out of bed, stopping at the mirror before the window to check out my cut. I refused to put a Band-Aid on it. I think it makes me look tough. I walked over to the window, and the minute I opened it, muscle man was hugging me. More like crushing me.

"Ow." I mumbled into his chest. He let go immediately and stepped back.

"Sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. I shouldn't have let you leave when you did. Or I should have followed you out. But I got so angry and I nearly phased in the cafeteria."

"You don't need to be sorry about it, it's not your fault I got in the car with him."

"What? You got in the car with him?" I rolled my eyes.

"Can I tell you tomorrow? I'm tired and if I have to tell this fucking story one more time I'll kill myself." He laughed.

"Tomorrow, huh? Does that mean your talking to me now?" I shook my head, and he frowned.

"I say…we ditch tomorrow and talk this out. My father would love it if I stayed home anyway."

"I would love that too, I don't want you going back the day after this happened."

"That's what my dad said." I bit my lip. Then a warm hand was on my face, gently touching the cut.

"I really wish I followed you. You wouldn't have this ugly thing," he said as he brushed gently over it, making me flinch. "And I wouldn't have to regret it forever."

"Don't diss it, I like it. And-" I lost my train of thought when he stepped closer and kissed the cut. His lips barely touched my skin, but it left a burning fire.

"I should go. I'll come over tomorrow when I know its safe." Safe as in Carol being gone for work. This almost made me laugh. While I told my story to my dad, she sat there pretending to care.

"Oh, so you are going to come over tomorrow?" He nodded. And the only thing I could do was smile. Hopefully tomorrow we would get things back to normal, even if that means I have to spill my feelings for him. I swallowed hard at that thought.

Without a word, he picked me up. I giggled, and from the corned of my eye, I saw him laughing. He placed me in my bed as careful as you would with a baby. He pulled the covers over my body, and grabbed my hand to kiss it. He turned to go back out the window, but I saw the disappointment on his face.

"Wait!" I tugged on his arm. It was louder than it needed to be, but he turned around with hopeful eyes.

"Hmm?" He walked back over to me and sat on the bed. One hand slowly reached over to pat my hair.

"Will you stay? Until I fall asleep at least? I don't…want to be alone." I played with the comforter in my hands.

"Of course, anything for you, Tal." I smiled and scooted over so that I was against the wall. I patted the spot next to me, and he laughed as he slipped his body under the covers. My muscles instantly relaxed.

"Thanks. 'Night." I closed my eyes, but I could still feel his on me.

"Goodnight, Tala." I felt a warm arm wrap around me, and I smiled as I dozed off into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

WOAH ! Beyond popular belief...I'M CONTINUING TO WRITE THIS STORY ! Yay me ! But it's really because of all of the encouragement I got from you guys to continue. So here's the next FULLY LOADED chapter. Enjoy my lovely fans. :)

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I rolled over because something was poking my back. I squinted my eyes open, already knowing who would be standing over.

"Tala. Wake up now. I swear this is the last time I'm coming in here to wake you up." Carol was hovering over me like a hawk, just staring at me through her fake eyelashes.

"I'm not going today. Dad suggested that I stay home due to what happened yesterday. Or do you not remember?" She rolled her eyes as I sat up in bed.

"Whatever. I'm leaving for work in like five minutes, so I can't make breakfast. And you'll be home alone all day. Have fun." The words slid through her teeth as she glared at me and walked out of my room. I hate her with all that I am, but at least I don't have to deal with her today.

Shoot. Today I'm staying home not only because I was nearly raped yesterday, but to talk to Embry. I've been dreading this day for quite some time now. I'm afraid to tell him how I feel about this whole situation, him being a werewolf and all, and I how I'm secretly in love with him. Did I just say that?

I've known this for a while, I just never wanted to face it. But I need to get this off of my chest. He needs to know my true intentions with this friendship. And if he doesn't agree, then I honestly don't know what will happen.

Last night didn't really help at all either. Him being so close to makes me want to lose control. I can barely handle myself around him anymore, and then he goes and does THAT. Kissing me so intimately, and only on the cheek. And when I asked him to stay the night like an idiot, he wrapped his freaking arm around me. I'm sorry, but I don't think friends do that to each other.

The door slammed shut downstairs, so that was my cue to get out of my room. I slowly got up, wincing in pain. I don't even know why I'm hurting, but I'm sore everywhere. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself.

The cut from last night was even worse. I think I probably slept on it weirdly and cut it open more. There was some cry blood marks on my cheeks, so I licked my thumb to scrap it off. Then a better idea came to me: a shower. I grabbed the first fresh pair of underwear and a clean outfit and headed towards the bathroom.

I quickly stripped down and turned the knob so that the water would be steaming hot. I stepped in slowly, dragging my feet with me as I walked in. I still had to hold my arm out of the shower because my cast can't wet. I stood there for a couple of minutes, just thinking about my life and what it's turned into.

The hot water hurt as it dripped down my back, but I didn't care. At some point, I started to cry. This month has been so stressful; I just can't take it anymore. I hate the fact that I "hate" Embry now. I'm sick of pretending to be mad at him. Everytime I see him, I just want to give up and fall into his arms and cry. A knock suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you alright in there, Tal?" I stopped my crying, and quickly ran my good arm through my hair once.

"Yeah, give me one second." I turned the water off, and jumped out of the shower. I ignored the pain, and got dressed as quickly as I could. I ran a brush through my hair, and unfogged the mirror with my hand. I had dark circles under my eyes, and my cut looked fresh again. I opened the cabinet and swallowed two pills to numb the pain. I slammed it shut and turned around to whip open the door. And who I was expecting to be there, was no longer there.

"Em?" I shouted. I stood there, waiting. I didn't know where to go.

"In here." I heard him shout back from what sounded like my room. I took big steps towards it, and once I could see in, I saw his tall figure standing by my dresser. He was shirtless, and his back was so sculpted and muscular…Stop yourself.

"How'd you get in?" He quickly turned around and dropped whatever it was that he was holding. He bent down to pick it up, and then walked over to me.

"I have my ways." He said shyly and stuck his hands into his pockets. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he just chuckled. I could listen to him laugh all day.

"What were you looking at over there?" I looked to my dresser to see what he possibly could be looking at. And then I saw something that was out of place. My eyes widened and I pushed past him to check on the picture that was sitting there. I put it back in its correct place, and smiled as I looked back down at it.

"I'm sorry; I just was looking at it. You look so much like her now." I nodded in agreement as I looked at the picture of my mother holding me as a baby. It was my favorite picture ever taken of us. And it really was the only one left. I turned around, trying not to cry again.

"It's OK. I want to eat something. You hungry?" He smiled widely, and I smiled back at him.

"I always am." I laughed and started walking towards the stairs. But as I was walking past Embry, he gently grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking. His face was only a couple of inches from mine now, and my breathing altered as his hot breath blew into my face.

"Em, what are you-" He held a finger to my lips, and then let it fall slowly once I was quiet.

"I wanted to say good morning, and that I'm sorry that I left without saying that to you. I heard Carol coming in, and I ran out so that she wouldn't see me." He played with a piece of my wet hair as he spoke.

"It's fine; I would have done the same thing. Carol is a pretty scary person. And I'm surprised that her evil minion George didn't find you sooner." I thought about my "step-brother" and how sneaky he was.

"I haven't seen George in a while, how is he?" Embry asked as he pushed my back so slightly that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't paying attention to everything he was currently doing. But I snapped back into reality and started walking again.

We talked about nothing as we sat across from each other eating cereal. I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, and I don't think he was either. We were both just staring at each other, which sounds weird, but it wasn't. It was comfortable, and I felt like this was how each morning should be. But perfect moments always come to an end, and before I knew it, we were back up in my room lying on my bed. I was staring at the ceiling and Embry was laying on his side staring at me. Neither of us talked for a while, we just lay there, waiting for the other one to talk.

"So…do you want to start talking or do I have to?" I looked over to him, and laughed.

"You can." He nodded, and opened his mouth, but I cut him off. "Wait, I will." He laughed, and nodded again. I could hear him swallow hard from where I was laying. I nervously looked around the room, and sat up in my bed.

"So first about yesterday…" I chuckled, trying to provide comic relief, but it didn't work. Embry just sat up as well, and punched the bed as he did so.

"Can I ask a question first?" He didn't wait for my answer. "Why the hell did you get into a car with that creep? What the fuck was going through your mind? Haven't you heard the stories about him?" He was screaming now, and I winced away from his shaking body. I didn't answer at first; I was just staring at his shaking arms. He eventually calmed down, but I was still scared to talk.

"Can you let me explain before you start yelling at me?" He sighed, and scooted closer to me, which made me stand up. I looked down at him, and he looked a little sad, but he nodded.

"Yes, and I'm sorry. Please continue." He moved his arm as if he wanted me to sit back down, but I shook my head.

"So, after what happened with you in the cafeteria…I ran outside because I wanted some fresh air. And I was crying, and I didn't want anyone to see me like that, 'cause we both know that I look disgusting when I cry." I walked over to my window, and looked out while I told the rest of the story.

"And that obviously didn't work because there were students out in front of the school. So this Ryan kid comes over and starts talking to me. And I was just so angry with you, with myself, and with everything, so I let his sweet talk persuade me into ditching with him. I'll explain that part into more detail later when I tell you something else, but for now, we'll just say that I went with him because of that.

"I've never heard anything about him, and honestly up until yesterday I had no idea that he existed. But if I had known what he does to girls, I obviously would never have gotten in that car with him. I won't go into details about what he did, but it wasn't much. I _literally_ kicked him out of his own car before he could do anything, and then I drove it back to the school. I walked in the office, told the lady what happened, and now this is probably the…sixth time that I've told this story." I turned back around, and saw a shaking Embry again. This time I wasn't scared. I walked over to him and sat down next to him on my bed. I grabbed both of his shaking arms, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I think I deserve an explanation now. Of everything. So please calm down. I don't want you changing into a wolf in my room, that'd be a mess." He stopped shaking and let out a loud laugh.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just can't sit there and listen to that and not get angry. What he did to you…I could kill him for that." He looked away from me, embarrassed to be saying that.

"I don't even care anymore, he'll get what he's been waiting for. And like I said, I stopped him from doing anything. You know, you should really give me more credit. I kicked his sorry ass out of his own car, and I think I'm the only one who finds that funny."

"It is funny." I looked up to see Embry smiling at me. "But I just want to know why you. You never did anything to hurt him." I rolled my eyes.

"Get over it, honestly. I don't need any more sympathy about it. You should be the one who understands that the most. You can beat him up for all I care, let's just drop it. I only told you that story because it goes along with something else I've been meaning to tell you." Now it was my turn to look away from him.

"What would that be?" I looked back at him shaking my head.

"No way, you first. I already went. You have way more explaining to do than I do. So don't try to get out of it because I won't let that happen."

"I know I do. I just don't want to tell you." I sighed, and shifted my weight under my foot. I ran my hand through my damp hair, and looked back at Embry, who was staring at me.

"It can't be as bad as you being a werewolf." I raised my eyebrow and smiled, but he just looked at me.

"I should probably explain that in greater detail before I get into…the other stuff." I swallowed hard and nodded.

"That would be nice. I would like to updated on your whole status and story. I remember from the legends that you're like super fast, and your temperature changes, but that's about it." He looked at me in disbelief.

"You remembered? I thought Sam told you." I shook my head.

"No, I talked to my grandpa."

"Wow…you're amazing, you know that?" I blushed, and looked down at my feet.

"Anyway, tell me everything." He let out a shaky breath, and started telling me everything.

"Alright, so you know what I am. No one really knows why our temperatures change the way they do. It's probably because we're wolves, and we need to stay warm. I don't know. And we do go super fast, and I'm also super strong." He reached over and picked me up with one arm.

"Hey! Put me down!" I screamed, and he carefully placed me exactly where I was sitting before. I reached over and grabbed his arm, pinching the muscle. I couldn't even fit my hand around his arm.

"Whoa." He laughed, and I ever so discreetly placed my head on his arm, hoping that he wouldn't notice. But of course he did. He slid his arm around my back and pulled me closer to him, and I just dug my head deeper into his chest. I'm glad he noticed.

"Let's see. Have you noticed how Sam is kind of like our leader?" I nodded. "That's because technically, he is. We call him our alpha. He just makes sure we are in line, and if we're not, he can command us to do something. But if he does command us, we physically can't go against that. It's like a tie that connects us to him, and we can't break it."

"That sucks." I inhaled his scent, and closed my eyes and focused on his breathing.

"What sucks even more is that when we're in wolf form, we can hear each others thoughts. There is literally nothing we can hide. Sure, you could try, but by trying, you're still thinking about not thinking about it, and they all find out anyway. That's the worst thing about this." I looked up to see him staring at the wall. I just looked at him until he noticed and looked down at me.

"Why are you like this? I mean, how is it even possible for you to be what you are?" He looked back at the wall and sighed.

"Two reasons. One: It's in my genes. It passes down from our fathers, and only comes into affect when it's triggered by them. Which leads into number two." He looked down at me again. "Promise to not freak out?" I nodded. "We are here to protect the people of LaPush."

"It's hard to imagine that we need to be protected." I laughed, but his head just looked away from me.

"We protect it from vampires, Tala." My eyes widened.

"Vampires?" He nodded.

"Yeah. Stupid leeches. But you don't need to worry, you get special protection." He winked at me. I almost wanted to laugh, but I couldn't.

"So, if it's triggered by them being here, then are there a lot in LaPush?" He shook his head.

"No, but there's a family, named the Cullens, who live in Forks. We have a treaty with them, so we can't touch them, but as long as they're there, we still exist. Like I said, it's in the genes and we can't control it."

"So, these Cullens…" I didn't have to finish because he knew what I was going to ask.

"They would never touch a human. They call themselves 'vegetarians.' They only drink animal blood. I still think they're sick creatures, but as long as they're not hurting anyone, I'll be content." I nodded, and sunk my head into his chest again. For a while, we just sat there. I listened to his steady heartbeat, and memorized how it sounded.

"You know, you seem to be taking this very well." I looked up, and tilted my head.

"I'm just thinking about it all. So, that's it then?" He shook his head.

"I heal really fast, which is kind of cool. And as long as I'm phasing, I won't age. But it cancels itself out cause I already don't look my age." I laughed.

"You can say that again. Wait, so if I'm old and wrinkly, you'll still look like that?" I said, looking over his perfect body.

"No. I have to learn how to control my phasing, and once I do, I can stop all together and then I'll finally age. But for now, yes." He smiled as he said this, and I smiled too. I looked at his beautiful face, and he caught me staring.

"Alright, so _now_ that's it?" I tried changing the subject so that I wouldn't be embarrassed, and luckily he dropped it.

"No." His voice was cold and he sounded nervous. His arm dropped from my back, and he stood up from the bed. I tried to not let it phase me, but instantly I was cold and I wanted him back right next to me.

"Well what else could there possible be?" He paced back and forth four times. I know this because I counted. Him being this nervous made me uncomfortable. He finally stopped walking and kneeled down in front of me and took my hands in his.

"I've thought of a thousand different ways to tell you this, but now that I'm actually here doing it, I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me, Em. Seriously, nothing could change how weird this whole thing is." My hands started to shake, but it wasn't me. It was because of Embry's shaking hands.

"There's still one thing that I haven't told you about." He paused, kind of as a reassurance to himself. I nodded for him to continue.

"It's called imprinting. And you probably don't know this legend because no one really tells it, but for you, it's probably the most important. I couldn't tell you it; I'll just end up butchering the story. So you'll have to wait until another bonfire to hear that one." He stopped again.

"Alright, that's fine." I was getting freaked out because from what I can see, it's something worse than all of the other things combined.

"Imprinting…is supposed to be a rare experience that only a few wolves go through, but that's not the case for our pack. A lot of the guys have done it, including me.

"I want to describe it sort of like love at first sight, but you have to know that is nothing like it at all. You see this girl, and you know that you were made for her. Everything that's ever held you to this universe falls apart, and suddenly she's all that matters.

"Love isn't what happens at first. Imprinting is just…a push in the right direction, I guess you could say. If imprinting didn't happen, you would end up with her anyway. It's like you're soul mates; two halves in a whole.

"You want to protect her, love her, be her best friend, or just get to know her if that's the case. But whatever happens, it's bound to turn into a romantic relationship. Trust me, I would never force you into anything you don't want, but from what I've seen, it just ends up that way.

"I know this is probably confusing because we've been best friends forever, and you probably don't think of me in that way, but that doesn't have to change. We can still just be friends, if that's what you want. It doesn't matter to me. As long as you're safe and happy, I will be just as happy." He shrugged his shoulders, suggesting that he was done. I looked at him, panting and short of breath. Did he honestly just imply what I think he did? I ripped my hands out of his and stood up from the bed. This time, I was the one pacing and he was now sitting on the bed staring at me.

Imprinting is…weird. Love at first sight doesn't exist. But I guess when you're a werewolf, anything's possible. I really can't question why it happens, it probably just does. But what if they girl didn't want him? He said it's bound to turn romantic…but I just don't know.

And the way he was describing it was just…I don't know. I mean it's cute and romantic, you're soul mates. Who doesn't love a happy ending at the end of a story? It sounds cool, and I don't know why he was so nervous to tell me. But then after thinking about it, it hit me.

At the end, he kept bringing me into the conversation. That doesn't make sense unless…Does that me that he imprinted on…

"Me?" I turned to look at him. He had raised eyebrows.

"I'm sorry?" He stood up and walked over to me. I felt him hovering over me, but I didn't look up.

"Did you…imprint on…me?" I choked out my sentence, nervous because I already knew his answer.

"Yes. I'm sorry if I didn't already say that, but yes. You are my imprint." My stomach flipped. Why now? I looked up and met the eyes of my best friend. The one I've known since we were born. The one I can count on through anything. And apparently, he's also the one who's made for me. My soul mate. I think I'm going to puke.

I quickly stepped back, and he followed me. I was going so fast that I didn't realize my dresser was behind me and I ran right into it. Something fell off of the edge, but I didn't look to see what it was.

"I think you should leave. Give me some time to think about all of this." I looked down at my feet, and quickly glanced at him. He looked wounded.

"You have to say something, Tal." I shook my head.

"I…I can't. I don't know what to say." I kept shaking my head, still thinking this was unreal. I now knew that Embry probably did think of me the same way I do of him. I wouldn't even know where to start. All of these feelings came rushing through my body, and I felt the impulse to kiss him. I just wanted to tell him that I love him, but I don't know how.

"Well I know I said that I'd be your friend, but I don't think I could lie to myself anymore. I love you, Tala. I always have, and I always will. You're my best friend, and we know everything about each other. If would just give me one chance to prove myself to you…I promise that you could eventually love me too."

"Please…stop." He stepped closer to me, and grabbed my face. He looked deeply into my eyes, burning holes through them.

"Please, just try." I looked away. If he had just spilled his guts out, why couldn't I? I looked back into his eyes with the same intensity he had just shown me. I had to trust myself, and take this leap of faith.

"I don't need to try, Em. I already love you. I don't know how you don't see that. I've wanted you for more than I can even remember. I've just been scared to tell you because I never thought that in my wildest dreams you would feel the same way. And I just-" He moved his hand down from the side of my face, and placed his finger over my mouth. I stopped talking, and my breath hitched. I had imagined what was about to happen a million times, I just never thought it'd be real.

His hand slid back to the side of my face, and he started to lean down as he pulled me closer to him. This was it, it was finally happening. I closed my eyes, and took one last breath before our lips collided. I can't even explain it, it was magical. Our tongues moved in perfect symphony, which is a little intense for a first kiss, but I didn't care. I needed more. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed our bodies together. They matched perfectly, and I smiled against his lips. I think he realized that we had gone too far, because when he got the chance, he parted from me. I let go a little, but still held onto his neck. His hands fell, but he still traced my face with one. I closed my eyes, and leaned into his hand.

"You're beautiful, has anyone ever told you that?" I smiled.

"Does my dad count?" He laughed, and leaned in to kiss my hair.

"No. So I'm the first then?" I nodded. "Good, I like that." I leaned back and stared at him.

"Protective much?" He nodded and laughed at me.

"Imprinting will do that to you."

"Ah, lovely imprinting." We laughed together, and I leaned into his bare chest. I wish we could always be this way, and just live in that moment. It was perfect, and we both loved each other the same.

Didn't I mention that everyone loves a happy ending? Well, fairy tales don't exist. I should have never listened to his shit about imprinting, and I should have never given him the chance that he begged for. I was too naïve to see this then and I didn't think it through, but soon enough I would see that imprinting wasn't something that ended happily for me.


	9. Chapter 9

Oh…it's been quite some time since I was on here…and for that, I am SO DEEPLY SORRY. I can only hope that people keep reading my stories. Life has just been crazy recently.

Anyway. I'm going to finish this story! FINALLY. I started another one called "Your Love is My Melody." I'm excited about it, but I want to get this one done before I really get into that one. SO. Sorry that it's been so long. But I'm back now! Read and review, pleasseeeee.

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Officially, it's been about a month since _the_ day. I know you're probably wondering what _the_ day is, but I don't have time to explain it right now. I'm in English class, and currently trying to ignore him. I can feel him staring from across the room. He wasn't in my class before. But because I've been ignoring him, he's taken drastic measures to get my attention. Like switching into almost every class of mine. And leaving little love notes all around for me to find. I rolled my eyes.

Here are a few things you need to know about the past month of my useless life:

1. I finally got that stupid cast off of my arm. Paul saw me in the hall after I got it off, and he tried to smile apologetically at me, but it didn't work. I still hate him all the same.

2. It seems like everywhere I go, one of them is around the corner trying to get me to listen to his bull shit. I mean EVERYWHERE. One time, Jared was inside my empty house when I got home. How the hell did he even get in when the front door was locked?

3. In all of the madness that has become my life, one good thing has come out of it. Since I'm ignoring all of the friends I've had since I was born, I had no other choice but to make some new ones. So my newly declared best friend is Melissa. She's…well let's call it outgoing. My dad isn't too fond of her, but then again neither is pretty much the entire school. She's a bit of a rebel. She smokes, which I hate. I don't want to die of secondhand smoke. But I have no other options.

All of the sudden, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to the right, and see Melissa staring at me with wide eyes. She shrugged her head towards the front of the classroom. Naturally, my eyes follow her direction. Mr. Paul, my English teacher, is standing in front of the class with his arms crossed.

"Well?" He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Well…" I glanced awkwardly around the room, to find that everyone else has their copy of Jane Eyre out and open to some random page. Oops.

"Tala. This is the second time you've forgotten your materials. Don't let it happen again." I nodded, sinking a little in my seat. I hear Melissa chuckle next to me. God. Why am I such a space cadet? I look back up to see that everyone in my class has focused their attention back to whatever Mr. Paul was rambling on about. Everyone except one person. The one person who I hate. The one person who I want to talk to, to work things out with, but I just can't. I can't even think about him with the image of her popping into my head. I closed my eyes, and I could see her figure. Her tan skin rubbing up against his. Her dark, short hair tucked behind her ears as she stared up at me. Her wide, bright blue eyes almost mocking me as I stood in front of them, just staring.

Suddenly, the bell rang. I sat in my desk while the room cleared out. I tried to avoid crowds, because every time I'm in one, it seems to be of the pack. Always giving me pleading eyes. It's not my fault, really. I miss them like crazy, but what is a girl supposed to do? I put my folder in my back pack, and as I stood up from my desk, I could still feel his eyes on me. _TAKE A HINT, BOY. _For the fun of it, I looked over to him.

He was sulking into his desk, making him seem like he was part of it, like he was trying to blend in and go unnoticed. His eyes were black, and the bags under them stretched down as far as cheek bones. I don't think he's slept nicely over the past month. Neither have I, but it's not like I would let him see that. Once he caught me staring, his eyes went wide. I froze. All I want to do is listen to my heart and run over and cry in his lap and just apologize for everything. But my head knew better than that. I sighed and broke eye contact with him. I walked out of the classroom, only to be bombarded by Melissa.

"Since today is Friday, want to come to a party with me?" I was still in Embry land. Why would he be sorry for doing what he did to me? It's not like he didn't have a part in it. He had to have initiated that kiss. I could tell by the look on his face when I caught them. He was shocked, almost scared of how I would react.

"I don't know, Melissa. My dad probably wouldn't like me showing up at midnight drunk out of my mind." She latched her arm onto mine.

"Silly. You can sleep over at my house." I could use a night to just forget about everything…She took my silence as a yes, and she squealed. "Oh, Tala! It's going to be so much fun! You might even hook up with someone! I know a guy that has his eyes on you." She winked at me, then she kept going on about the party. I zoned out. I don't want to hook up with anyone but Embry. OH MY GOD, shut up. Do you even hear yourself, Tala? He fucking cheated on you. Why would you go running back to him. As Melissa blabbered on beside me, I let my mind drift back to _the_ day. That's right folks. If you haven't figured it out already, _the_ day was the day when I caught Embry cheating on me with some slut face.

_Embry and I were dating for almost a month. After that day when we ditched school together and had that really hot kiss, we decided that we should get over ourselves and be together. I was content. No, more than content. I was on cloud nine every time I was with him. Maybe it was just the imprint talking, but I really loved him. _

_So, anyway. I decided to show up at Embry's house to surprise him with a date. I had it all planned out. We were going to go see a movie, and then we could go back to my house and um…make out? It wasn't romantic. That was his job. I just wanted to be with him. To feel his hands on my body. To make him blush when I touched that one spot that made him wince. I smiled to myself as I pulled up into his drive way, behind her car. Yuck._

_Her as in Nicole. She was living with Embry and his parents because her mom was a close friend of Embry's mom, and Nicole needed a place to live. She was a fresh-out-of-college girl, and she was just getting started. I didn't like her. Every time she was with us, she gave Embry her best flirty eyes and glared at me. Whatever, he was mine. _

_I just let myself into his house. I knew his parents weren't home, and he said that I was welcome whenever I wanted. I heard music playing from upstairs, so I knew that he was in his room. I tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall. I thought about knocking just in case he was indecent, but I decided against it. I swung the door open, and I was totally unprepared for what I saw._

_Nicole had her arms wrapped around Embry. She was shirtless. Bitch. His arms were on her shoulders, like he was pulling her closer. As if it wasn't bad enough, they were kissing. _

"_What the hell?" My voice broke as I spoke. Nicole laughed and let go of Embry. She looked up at me from his bed. She tucked her hair behind her ears and glared at me with a look of victory on her face. Her blue eyes mocked me as she sat there, next to him._

_The second I spoke, Embry was looking as guilty as ever. He froze. He didn't know what to do. His eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, as he just sat there and stared at me. _

"_What about imprinting? Was that a lie? Just like how you said you loved me?" He finally moved, shaking his head. I shook mine right back at him. At this point, I was trying to fight back the tears in my eyes._

"_Don't. I don't want to hear it. We're done." I turned my back and nearly ran out of his room. I heard him stand up behind me and follow me out. I got in my car and zoomed away as fast as I could. When I pulled out of his driveway, he was standing there. He had tears in his eyes. I think I just broke his heart. Part of me wanted to just put my car in park and run into his arms. But I knew nothing would ever be that simple again. That dick just cheated on me. If I didn't show up when I did, he probably would have gone all the way with that bitch. Even though it hurt like hell, I kept driving and left him there to wallow in his sadness._

So. I think a night full of drinking with Melissa would be worth it. I just need SOME time to think about something other than Embry. Anyway, what could happen? Nothing could hurt as much as seeing your soul mate making out with another girl. This will be an interesting night…


	10. Chapter 10

OOPS. Sorry for not writing…being in four AP classes doesn't really allow time for it…but hey, here's another chapter for ya'll. Some mature content is in here, just an fyi!

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"Tala! I loooooove you!" Melissa snuck up out of nowhere and wrapped her arm tightly around my shoulder. Her breath reeked like alcohol. I was doing my fair share of drinking, but I was not even close to being as drunk as she was.

"Melissa. I think you need to put the drink down." I went to grab the beer out of her hand, but she moved too fast. Some of it spilled all over the floor, and she giggled at what she had just done. I rolled my eyes.

"Why am I friends with you? You're such a Debbie Downer sometimes. Lighten up." She shoved me and laughed. Seconds later, she was moving back through the crowd and dancing to the loud music. I took another sip of my drink.

I don't know why I let Melissa convince me to come to this stupid party. She got me all dressed up because she thought that someone would want to hook up with me. So here I am, sitting all by myself in a tight dress and high heels. Too bad the one person that I would want to see me in it isn't here…

STOP. Why do I do this to myself? Embry cheated on me. I thought that imprinting would never allow for that, but apparently I was wrong. I looked around at all of the drunk teenagers surrounding me. They all looked so happy to be getting wasted. Well, at least no one from the pack was here. That would be a fun story to tell.

"Hey pretty lady, what are you doing here all by yourself?" I looked up to see some boy smirking at me. It was creeping me out. I stood up and tried to walk away. If there was one thing that I learned from going to many parties, it was to ignore men who gave me that drunken look, like they were ready to take advantage of me.

This boy, who I have never seen in my life, had other plans. He pushed me up against a wall when I was trying to get away from him. His hands were roaming all over my body, and he was leaving a nasty trail of kisses down my neck. I pushed him until he was stumbling backwards. He stood there, not being sober enough to properly understand what was going on.

"You are disgusting," I muttered as I turned around and stormed away from him. At first, I thought this party would be a good idea to get my mind off of things. Now, I am regretting my previous judgment. I searched through the crowd to find Melissa. I needed to get out of here. I found her grinding on some random guy.

"Uh, Melissa?" Well this was awkward. She looked pissed. I probably just ruined the one night stand she was planning because the guy walked away from her.

"What the hell? What could you possibly want now?" She screamed at me over the music.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going home. I'm not that drunk, so my dad shouldn't notice." She rolled her eyes and nodded her head. And just like that, she was back in the crowd of teenage sweat and sex. I grabbed my coat from the old spot where I was sitting and started to walk out of the door. It wasn't that late and I should be able to manage myself to walk home.

Boy, was I wrong. I fell three times, and I finally was walking barefoot. I knew that I was swaying as I walked because every so often I would end up in the street, not on the sidewalk where I belonged. I saw a squirrel run by and I couldn't help but laugh. His tail was just too fluffy. So maybe I had a little too much to drink…

I was walking in the middle of the street when some douche bag drove by and honked at me. I nearly had a heart attack. I fell on my butt and landed in a puddle. Great. This is just my luck. I figured I might as well just sit and wait until I sobered up a little bit. I closed my eyes and listened to the night around me. Then, I heard the rumbling of a car that was too familiar for my liking.

"Tala." I knew the voice without opening my eyes. I stood up and started walking in the wrong direction. I tripped over myself again, and I braced myself to fall flat on my face. But I never hit the ground. Warm arms were around my waist. My eyes were still sealed shut from bracing myself for my fall. I could feel his hot breath on my face. I wanted so badly to grab his face and kiss him like I never had before. The affect of just his breath made my knees go weak.

"Let me go." I ground out the words as harshly as I could. But he did the exact opposite. His grip on my waist tightened. I finally opened my eyes to roll them at his childish behavior. His face was a little too close. Being a little tipsy, I was finding it very hard to control myself.

"Give me one good reason to." His face was pained. I reached a hand up and stroked his cheek. His eyes closed and a small smile stretched across his lips.

"Embry, please. Just let me go." There was a double meaning in my words. For so long he had been trying to get me to forgive him for cheating on me. But we both knew how stubborn I was, and it would take a lot more than puppy eyes for me to even give him a little trust.

"Never." He leaned in to kiss me, but I ducked my head. Instead of landing on my lips, his lips collided with my forehead. He let out a sigh and finally let me go.

"Thanks," I whispered. Although he let me go, he was still studying me intently, like he was waiting for my next move.

"Let me take you home. You're drunk." I shook my head.

"I've been walking home perfectly fine without you, thank you very much." I was back on my mission. I started walking down the street again.

"Yes, because nearly getting run over is so good. Tala, just stop being ridiculous." There goes that double meaning again. I knew that he wanted me to hear him out. He had said it a million times. All he wanted was one chance for him to explain what had happened with Nicole. But that was one chance that I was not willing to give. I whipped my body just in time to glare at him before I burst.

"Embry, please tell me how I am being ridiculous. You're the one that cheated on me. I didn't choose that. But I do choose to be as far away from you as possible. You weren't thinking of me. I really don't give a fuck anymore who you mess around with because you are not my business anymore." I think that sent him a little over the edge.

"She came onto me! When you walked in, I was pushing her off of me, not pulling her closer. When she came in my room, she had just gotten out of the shower, that's why she didn't have a shirt on. You know that I think Nicole is a slut. I don't feel anything for her." He took a step closer to me, I was paralyzed. My eyes were wide.

"In fact, I'll never feel anything for anyone else but you, Tala. Because we were literally made for each other. Even if this whole mythological shit wasn't real, I would still love you. I only want to be with you. You are it for me, Tal. I love you." He closed to distance between us and pulled me into a hug. His scent was intoxicating. I missed this so much. Feeling so small in his arms yet so protected and loved.

"Embry. Can't. Breath." He let his grip loosen, but he still held me in his arms.

"Sorry. I forget sometimes that I'm freakishly hot and strong."

"Could you just take me home? I have a killer headache and I need some time to think." He simply nodded and started leading me towards his car. The car ride home was super awkward. I hadn't spoken a single word since he told me what really happened. Why am I such a bitch? Embry loves me, yet I was being selfish this whole time.

Embry dropped me off at home, and left me with all of delirious thoughts. What am I supposed to do? I made this huge deal out of something that turned out to be nothing. In my gut, I knew that Nicole was no good. Yet I couldn't help but jump to conclusions about Embry. I am going to look like a fool if I just pretend that nothing happened. But I really don't think I can be without Embry any longer.

This sucks. I am officially the worst girlfriend in the world. All I can hope for is that Embry won't hate me too much for denying him for so long. This pain in my chest isn't bearable anymore. I need him. I will get him get him back. But for now, I need to sleep and get rid of this fucking headache. At least one good thing came out of getting drunk. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I'll be with Embry and things will be back to normal. Sweet dreams to me.

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So, as I'm growing older…I kind of want to make this a MATURE story. Let me know if you agree or not!


	11. Chapter 11

I. AM. SO. SORRY! I'm a jerk, blah blah blah. Here's a long chapter. But hey, I finally have my own laptop. Hooray for writing every single night for you lovelies! :)

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Waking up after drinking all night has got to be the worst thing in the world. The headaches are killer and you don't have a single clue as to what happened the night before. As I opened my eyes, the light filling in my room made my head spin. I tried to sit up in my bed, but my body just wasn't processing the things my brain was trying to do. I sunk back into my nest of blankets. What the hell happened last night?

"Tala? Are you awake?" Someone opened my door, and I threw my blanket over my head.

"Go away." I don't know if that came out as coherent words, but whatever. Someone chuckled and I felt a body sink into the foot of my bed. Then the covers were pulled off of my body. Oh, hell was about to break loose.

"Come on, Tala. It's almost one in the afternoon." I finally forced myself to sit up. I was greeted with the face of my father. He had a smirk playing on his lips. What a jerk.

"Daaaaaaaaaad. Why can't I just sleep my life away?" He laughed at me and stood up from my bed.

"Sweetie." He was standing next to me. I probably looked like complete garbage. One look to the mirror on my dresser had confirmed my thoughts. My hair looked like a birds nest and I was still wearing my outfit from last night.

"Dad." He grabbed my arms and yanked me so that I was standing up. It took a while to gain my balance, but he held onto me until he was sure that I wouldn't fall on my ass.

"Tala. Someone is downstairs. And by the looks of it, he wants to have a serious conversation." SHIT. Last night…Embry…oh, the memories were all flooding back to me now. What am I supposed to say? I overreacted weeks ago when that slut face Nicole was all over my man. I can't even think straight because I had been so blind. Obviously Embry loves me and he would NEVER cheat on me, so why did I let myself believe for so long that he had? I think my dad saw the panic written on my face, and he laughed.

"I can't talk to him now, dad." He shook his head at me.

"This has been going on for too long. He's your best friend. And he really cares about you. I can stall for another five minutes so that you can make yourself presentable. But after that, you are on your own." UGH. I think Carol the evil step-mother was rubbing off on him. He walked out of my room and shut the door behind him. I got ready quickly, just throwing my hair up and changing into sweats.

Then I sat on my bed because I didn't want to go downstairs and face Embry. I was such a bitch. He shouldn't be forgiving of what I did. And the worst part was that he wouldn't even care. I'll say I'm sorry and he'll forget that this ever happened. Any normal would be pissed that his girlfriend couldn't trust him. But because of imprinting, Embry wouldn't give a shit.

Time must have flown by, because as all of these thoughts are running through my head, someone knocked on my door. Here goes nothing.

"Come in." My throat went dry. I forgot how to speak. My hands got clammy. Why am I this nervous? Embry opened the door and shut it behind him. His head was hanging low as he walked over to my bed and sat down next to me.

"Listen Tal, I'm sor-"

"Don't even say it, Em." His head shot up and he looked so confused.

"Tala. I should have told you before last night, and I don't even know if you remember what I said last night. But I shouldn't have waited so long. It literally killed me to see you everyday and not be able to touch you." He reached a hand out for my face, but I pulled back.

"I do remember what you said." Embry placed his hands back on his lap and he shifted his body away from me.

"So why do you still hate me?" There was so much regret in his voice that it made me want to die. I could feel the tears starting to form.

"I do _not_ hate you! The feelings I have for you are the farthest things from hate. I hate that after everything I put you through, you're willing to just forget it. I knew from the second I saw you with Nicole that you had no choice in the matter. Yet I still took it out on you. And you should be SO mad at me for that. Hell, I'm mad at me for everything. But you're just as forgiving as before and it pisses me off. It pisses me off so much, Embry."

"I care about you. I just want to put this all behind us and move forward. Nicole is gone, you know. I made her leave. So now it can just you and me. Forever." His voice was a whisper. He was begging me to just drop it. But I couldn't.

"You're missing the point. I don't want to just drop it. I want you to yell at me and get all of your anger out."

"I'm not angry though." At that, I stood up and started pacing around my room.

"That's not normal. Any other guy would be so frustrated with me."

"That's it, then? You're mad at me because you think that we're not normal? Well guess what, we are never going to be normal. I'm a werewolf and some stupid mythical force had to show me that I loved you." I snapped my head up. We both had tears in our eyes on the brink of flooding out. At his words, mine broke and were now streaming down my face.

"So imprinting is why you love me?" He realized what he had said, and he started to shake his head.

"That's not what I meant. This is why I didn't want to fight. Because now I can't get my words straight and get out what I really want to say." I can't believe this guy. Comes to my house and now has me crying like a little baby.

"I think you should go." He sighed and stood up. He walked over towards me, but I held my hand up.

"You want to me to go? So you won't talk to me for another two weeks?" I looked down at the floor. Just pull yourself together. It's hard, but he just admitted that he doesn't _really_ love you. Imprinting makes him do it. He doesn't have a say in the matter.

"I don't want to talk to you ever again." He used his werewolf speed and I had nowhere to go. He grabbed my face and forced me to look up at him. His cheeks were wet and his eyes were red. Shit. So much for pulling myself together.

"You don't mean that." His voice was shaking. At every word, my heart broke down a little more. You can do this, Tala.

"But I do. You don't seem to have a choice because of imprinting. But I do. And I'm choosing to leave you. It's best for both of us." I closed my eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"You're wrong. What's best for both of us is to be together."

"You're just saying that because of imprinting." I could feel his hot breath on my face as he placed a light kiss on my cheek.

"No, I'm not. I really do love you, Tala. For everything that you are. You make me the happiest man alive. I might not have much to offer you, but I can promise that my love for you will never fade. I want to make you as happy as you make me. Please, give me one more chance." He pulled me into a tight hug. As I inhaled his woodsy scent, I broke down for the millionth time in the brief time he had been in my room.

How could I deny him after his confession? But how could I look at him the same knowing that it wasn't really him that loved me, but some stupid outside force telling him what to do? I pulled back and he let me go. He looked down and gave me a puppy look. If it wasn't this situation, I would have made some dumb joke. But I couldn't.

"I'm sorry." He looked confused as he shook his head.

"Don't do this. _Please._ I can't lose you. I just can't." Then he did something that I had only ever seen one man do, which was my dad when my mom died. Embry cried. He let go of whatever was holding him back and the flood gates opened.

"Embry…" I tried to reach my hand up and wipe away his tears, but he grabbed my hand and held it tight. He placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand and let it linger on his lips.

"Goodbye, Tal." His voice broke, and he dropped my hand. It seemed like I blinked and he was gone. My hand was still stretched out, like I was reaching for him.

My heart broke into a million pieces, and I fell to the floor. I don't think anything will ever be normal again. I sat there almost drowning myself in my own tears before my dad walked in and found me on the ground. I didn't say a single word for the rest of the night. I just lay in my bed and cried for hours. I had just lost the only best friend I have ever had. The love of my life.

What have I done?


	12. Chapter 12

SORRY! This summer was soooo intense and I literally had no time to write :( BUT I'm officially a college student now! So I can write in between classes and such, so here's a new chapter for you all :) I know I'm not the most reliable writer, but thank you to everyone who still reads my stories. I love all of your support, it encourages me to write! Please enjoy this new chapter!

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For some reason, when you're depressed, time seems to fly by yet drag on at the same time. You can sit in the same exact spot for hours and not realize yet. But in that moment, when you're sitting there being vulnerable, time is frozen.

That was my current state. Or that had been my state for the past week. I went to school, which blurred together and I didn't remember anything. When I got home every day, I would go straight up to my room and just stare out the window. Nothing happened. Everything was bleak and I was just there, coexisting with the nothingness around me. The only thing on my mind was that he wasn't here. _Embry._

My heart broke just thinking about him. Every positive memory in my life has some tie with that boy. Anything good that has happened to me was because of him. Why did I push him away? If I could just talk to him and tell him how sorry I am maybe things can go back to normal. At least that's the only hope that I have at the moment. That would be the perfect plan, if Embry was still here.  
No one could find him. The guys all patrolled La Push and every single town within a 100 mile radius, and they couldn't pick up his scent. At first, they all saw how sorry I was and they wanted to find him just as much as I did. But now, they all think it's my fault. Which it is, so I don't blame them. But no one talks to me anymore. If they had found him, they were leaving him to wallow in his pain and not telling me so that I could do the same. It's like I'm some plague that they don't want to catch. I'm the biggest bitch ever. I know I am. But some friends would be nice at this point in my life. I guess I kind of brought this upon myself.

On my lonely walk back from school, I could have sworn that I heard someone behind me. When I turned to look, no one was there. But as I continued, I know that I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I made an abrupt stop and someone came crashing into me.

"Goddamnit Tala!" I spun on my heel to see none other than Seth Clearwater. Although I was hoping it would be someone else, I was still relieved.

"Why are you following me?" He sighed as he tucked his hands into his pockets while he shrugged his shoulders.

"Someone has to make sure you're ok." I wanted to cry. Of all people in the world, Seth is the most caring, loving, and loyal friend anyone could ask for.

"You could just talk to me, you know. Or sit with me at lunch. You don't have to stalk me to make sure I'm doing fine." He dropped his head and stared at the ground for minutes before he finally answered. I know exactly what he's thinking.

"Yeah, but with everything going on…" I rolled my eyes. Just when you thought you had a friend in the world, he goes and brings up everything that is going wrong in my life.

"I get it, ok? No one wants to talk to me because I ruined everything. It's totally fine, I'm totally fine. Just don't bother me anymore, please? I don't want to get into any more fights." He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but I just turned around and made my way towards my house. Honestly, whatever he would have said would set me off and I would either A) start punching him or B) break down crying in the middle of the street. But it didn't matter anyway, because on my way home I bawled my eyes out.

When I got home, no one was there. So I grabbed some ice cream from the freezer and locked myself in my room. I threw myself a pity party. Not that I deserved it. Who was I to be upset when I was the one who caused this whole mess? I really wish that I hadn't. I would do anything to back in time and take back every word that I said. Thinking about it, I was angry at Embry for just wanting to forget what happened. But that seems so minuscule in comparison to what I started. He apologized and the whole thing with Nicole clearly wasn't his fault. Yet I still pushed him away, and I think I know why.

For my entire life, I had been best friends with Embry. That's it. Friends with no benefits. And before the whole werewolf thing, I had begun to develop feelings for him, which terrified me. I knew that if I ever acted on those feelings, nothing would be the same. So I kept those feelings to myself.

And this all of this imprinting crap happens, and it all seems too good to be true. I was happy with him, obviously, but I was just waiting for it all to fall apart because that's how I had built up in my head. But every moment I spent with Embry was perfect. If I thought we were close before, now I can say for certain that we are made for each other. He knows every little detail about me, as do I of him.

So this one glitch in our relationship comes along, and it shouldn't matter at all because we love each other. But this was the thing that I had been waiting for. The crack in the foundation. And that's why I blew this out of proportion. For years, I had suppressed my feelings for him and told myself that it would ruin everything. When it didn't, it was my subconscious that made me doubt our relationship.

I wish I would have picked up on this a week ago, so that I could have just talked to Embry about this. Then he would tell me how crazy I was because he loved me and that we would be together forever. I could feel him kissing my fears away, and then this whole thing would be behind us, just as he wanted.

But now he's gone, possibly for good. And I might not ever be able to tell him all of this. Or to talk to him at all. Or to tell him that I love everything about him. Or to feel his fingers all over my skin. Or to see him smile when I say something stupid. Or to feel his radiance when his laughter would fill the entire room. Or to feel weak in my knees when his eyes would dig deep into my soul. And it's all my fault.

In the hours that I had spent crying and thinking about how much of an awful person I am, I hadn't moved from my position in front of my window. Before everything, I would wait every night by my window until Embry was done with patrol. He would sneak in and spend the night. We would have to wake up really early so that no one caught us, but we didn't care. I long for those nights. Where we would talk for hours and fall asleep in each other's arms. So now I sit in front of my window because I know that if he did come home, and he wanted to actually talk to me, this is the first place he would go.

Something stirred in the trees. I dropped the melted ice cream on the floor as I stood up and pressed my face against the glass to get a better view. For what seemed like hours, nothing happened. But then, the trees moved again, and even more this time. My heart started pounding. Could he really be back? Tears started to fill my eyes, and I ran out of my room and out of the house in less than a minute. I ran straight into the woods, not even realizing that I had no shoes or jacket and that it was freezing outside. That stuff didn't matter to me, I just couldn't believe that Embry might actually be back.

"Embry!" I shouted his name every so often because I know that he's out here somewhere. I wandered around for miles. I was lost, but Embry would find me and take me back home. I know he would. I was shaking because I was so cold, and my feet hurt from walking so much. I sat down on a log and curled my legs up to warm myself up.

I don't know how long I sat there. I finally rested my head on a tree and fell asleep for God knows how long. I woke up to the sound of twigs breaking in the distance. It sounded like someone was near me.

"Embry?" The sound was getting closer. Something didn't seem right. This was like a scene out of a horror movie. I was paralyzed partially because I was frozen from the cold, but mostly because it was becoming apparent that this person in the woods was not Embry.

"Em? Is that you?" I heard a snicker and my heart started racing at a million beats per second. I'm going to die. Oh dear lord, don't let me die like this.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A man stepped out from the trees, and he was beautiful. His skin was pale, and through his shirt I could see his perfectly chiseled abs. I was mesmerized by him. That was, until I looked into his eyes. If I wasn't frozen before, I definitely was now. I think my heart stopped beating altogether and my eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. _Be normal. Be normal. _My brain tried to make my body move, but I was stuck.

"I….I…" I looked anywhere but his eyes. Those blood red eyes haunted my dreams. Embry told me that if I ever encountered these, he would always be close to defend me. But he's not here. I'm a poor girl, basically set up as a meal for this vampire. VAMPIRE. My mind went crazy just thinking of the creature that's standing in front of me. I tried to speak, but no words escaped my mouth.

"Oh, don't be scared, Tala. I'm not going to hurt you. At least, not yet." He knows my name? My head started spinning just as he reached forward and knocked me over the head. My already lifeless body fell to the cold forest floor and the world as I knew it started to blur together. I felt the vampire pick me up off the ground and throw me over his shoulder before he started running faster than the speed of light.

Since I won't have the chance to say this alive…_I'm sorry, Embry. I love you._

And then everything went black.

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DUN DUN DUN! Hope you liked this! I just wanted to ask if you guys wanted a chapter from Embry's POV. I think it would be interesting to see what he's going through post-Tala. Let me know in a review!


	13. Chapter 13

AHHHHHH! Epic Chapter right here! And it's Embry POV! Enjoy :)

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She didn't want me. She didn't think that I loved her. She thinks that imprinting is what held us together.

She's wrong.

I loved her long before this whole mess. I was too scared to do anything. The guys told me not because it would mess everything up. Sometimes I wish that I hadn't agreed with them because we could have avoided this whole situation. She's not mad at me because of the Nicole thing. I could read her like a book and I knew that she had forgiven me for that.

Imprinting is what fucked us over. She had this idea in her head that I only loved her because of imprinting. She thinks that I don't have a choice in the matter. But I do. And I choose her a million times over.

If I could only go back in time and tell her how much I love her before I shifted for the first time, then maybe things would be different. One time, we were all hanging out at the diner and Quil and Jake had to leave. Which left Tala and I to walk home alone. My hands were so sweaty on that walk home because I tried to muster up enough courage to tell her. But then we got to her house and my chance was gone. I would give anything to go back to that moment and tell her how much she means to me.

"Hey buddy! Get out of the street!" I snapped back into reality when a passing car honked at me. I hadn't realized that I was walking in the street. Ever since Tala told me she didn't want me, I've kind of been living in a daze. Nothing in this world is significant anymore.

When she told me to leave, I ran. I guess that's partially imprinting's fault. When your imprint tells you to do something, you listen, no matter how hard it hurts. And this hurts like hell. I can't go anywhere without being reminded of her. Everything I do hurts my heart because I wish that she was here to do it with me. But she told me that she didn't want to talk to me ever again, so I ran.

For the first couple of hours, I was running around the entire country. I had nowhere in mind, I was just running around aimlessly in my wolf form. I tried my best to stay hidden because if I got caught Sam would kill me, but that wasn't really the most important thing on my mind. I could hear my pack brothers trying to calm me down and trying to locate me, but I just tuned them out. After a while, I got annoyed and phased back.

I ended up somewhere outside of Chicago. I got a cheap hotel room and lay in bed for who knows how long. My mind was racing with thoughts of what I could have done to prevent Tala from hating me this much.

_She hates me. She never wants to see me again. _My heart twisted in my chest. Why does love have to hurt this much? I gave Tala everything I have and more, and I really thought that she felt the same. I know that I'm not perfect but that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we are perfect together. Or were. I just don't know how she could possibly do this. If the roles were reversed, there is no way that I would hold anything against Tala. I would be angry, but I would forgive her and make up because I just can't be without her.

But I have to be without her. It's what she wants. And if this is going to make her happy, then I'll have to suffer through. It's going to be a bumpy road, but I have to do it. I have to do it for Tala.

I didn't want to pity myself anymore, so I went down to the bar that was in the lobby of this shit hole. The bartender didn't even ask for my ID. I was probably too intimidating. I looked scary enough already, I can't imagine what I looked like after the day I just went through.

I lost count of how many beers I had after my eleventh. I just sat at the bar and drank my sorrows away. I didn't move and I didn't do anything but drink. I heard someone sit next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see long blonde hair. _Please don't talk to me._ I am in no mood to socialize.

"Hello, miss. What can I get for you?" The bartender asked the woman who sat down next to me. She answered without hesitation.

"I'll have whatever he's having." A perky voice rang through my eyes. I squinted. The only thought that came into my mind was that she wasn't Tala. _Damnit._

You know what? If Tala doesn't want me, what's the point of waiting for her to come round? I might as well talk to this girl because I'm going to have to find some way to occupy my time now that I won't have Tala. Maybe this was the alcohol talking. But right now, I didn't care. I turned in my chair to the girl next to me.

She was pretty. No, not pretty. She was _gorgeous._ Her blonde hair was curled past her shoulders. She had the brightest blues eyes I've ever seen. Her skin was creamy and smooth. She smiled at me when I looked at her. Her perfectly white teeth shined up at me. _Maybe I can do this. _

"Having a rough day?" Without thinking, I let out a loud laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. How did you know?" The bartender came back with her beer, and chugged it down and placed an empty glass on the table.

"Well, I've been sitting over there with my friends eating dinner," she pointed to a table of girls who looked too suspicious. For a second, I tuned into their conversation.

"Don't look now, but he's looking over here!" One of her friends with brown hair whispered to the other girls and they all giggled. They totally set her up with this. Whatever, not like I cared.

"And we thought that you looked pretty lonely." I focused my attention back on the girl sitting next to me, who had been talking the whole time I was zoning out.

"So you decided to come over here? Are you sure your friends didn't set you up?" She laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She's trying too hard. It isn't working. She isn't Tala.

"You caught me! I'm really sorry. This isn't something that I normally do."

"Don't worry about it. I'm Embry, by the way." I stuck my hand out like any normal person would. She slipped her tiny hand in mine and a look of shock spread across her face as she felt my warmth.

"Melanie. I'm sorry, but you're like really hot!" I chuckled a little bit, and she looked so embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed. You're not the first person who's said that to me." I winked to her and she laughed.

We sat at the bar for what seemed like hours. The beers kept coming and the conversation never stopped. Her friends eventually left and we were soon the only two people left in the bar. She was really nice. She was outgoing once we started to talk a little, and she had a great sense of humor.

Maybe if I wasn't what I am, we could actually have a future. But after talking to this girl, I know no one will ever compare to Tala. For the slightest amount of time, I would feel like I wasn't thinking about Tala. But then Melanie would say or do something that reminded me of Tala and I was back in my own personal hell. There goes my plan of getting over her. This poor Melanie girl is sitting here talking to me, probably thinking that this is going really well. Which it is, but I know that we can never be more than friends. Even just talking to her makes me feel like I'm betraying Tala.

I made up some excuse as to why I had to leave, and Melanie gave me her number. I held the tiny piece of paper in my hand until I was outside of the hotel. As I kept walking, I threw that piece of paper in a garbage can. I love Tala, don't get me wrong. But I can only imagine how different things would be if I wasn't a werewolf. If I tried my hardest to see a future with Melanie, nothing appeared. Because the truth is, I know that even if I wasn't a werewolf I would still end up with Tala. That's how much I love her. And she doesn't see that.

I don't know how I ended up in the forest, yet there I was standing in the middle of an open field. I just wanted to cry. The guys would make fun of me if they ever found out about it, but I don't care. So I actually sat down in the woods and cried. I cried over everything that has gone wrong in my life. I was so happy about a week ago. I had Tala, literally the girl of my dreams. That's all that I needed to make me the happiest man on the planet.

And then Nicole came along and set up a speed bump in our relationship. Like I said, I know that Tala forgave me for that. I really had no control over what Nicole did. Tala walked in on us at the perfect time because I was in the process of pushing her off of me when Tala opened my door and saw her kissing me.

But the whole Nicole situation brought up something in Tala that made her snap. I thought Tala was cool with all of the wolf stuff. But apparently not the imprinting. It's like she was waiting for something bad to happen so that she could bring it up. If the whole Nicole thing wouldn't have happened, then Tala wouldn't have had the chance to tell me her feelings. And then she would probably have kept them bottled inside for forever because that's the type of person that she is. My heart aches just thinking that I'm the one who caused all of this unhappiness in her life.

As I was wiping my eyes, I heard the snap of a twig from somewhere in the woods. My wolf instincts cut in and I was erect and on my feet in a matter of seconds. I smelled the air around me, and I instantly regretted that I had not picked up on that scent before now. I was too in my own world that the actual world around me didn't even faze me. But this should have fazed me. Before I even had the chance to phase and let the guys know where I was, something grabbed me from behind. Normally, I could have broken through it given my strength. But this thing holding me back was paralyzing. I couldn't move.

"Aw, look what we have here. Poor werewolf boy crying over his lost lover." In a flash, a red eyed vampire was standing in front of me. This vampire standing in front of me had a smirk on his lips as he watched me suffer in pain. My blood was boiling. Every fiber of my being wanted to phase and rip this thing into shreds, but I was still restricted from behind.

"Leave her out of this." I managed to speak through my clenched jaw. Before, my body was just paralyzed. Now, I wasn't numb to the feeling. My body felt like it was on fire. I wanted to thrash around and scream out, but my brain couldn't function.

"Oh, you mean our good little friend, Tala? Don't worry, she's under the best of care." I went absolutely crazy. _THEY HAVE HER. _I tried to put everything I have into phasing, but the fire burning throughout my body grew stronger. I tried to fit against the restraints, but they only got tighter. I started crying. Tears streamed down my face. How are they doing this to me? Why do they know who I am? But more importantly, why did they have to bring Tala into this? My poor, innocent Tala. Being held captive by vampires. My heart broke knowing that I could do nothing about it.

"Please…" One last plea fell out of my lips as the fire started to burn down. In its place, another numbness came over my body. My eyes felt like a ton of bricks were weighing them down. _No! Fight this! You have to save Tala! _I tried to fight it, but whatever they were doing to me was working too well.

"Young, human love is just too tragic for me to understand." My body finally gave out. I tried as hard as I possibly could, but it wasn't enough. I'll never be enough. And now Tala will never know that I love her so much that it hurts.

The last thing I remember was being dragged across the ground and being placed into the trunk of a car. Then, like a light, I was out.


End file.
